Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Nina

   Chapter 10

   I was sitting in my recliner when my daughter came bouncing back into
the living room.  She zeroed in on my lap.

   "I've been soooo looking forward to this, Dad," she said.

   "Me too, Sandy.  Nina, too."

   "I like 'er, Dad," she admitted.  "She talks to ME.  Like, she calls me
to talk to me, just like that." She sighed.  "An' it's kinda like she's a
grownup, but she's kinda not.  She's fun to talk to."

   "That's why I married her, baby," I admitted.  "She's very smart and
good."

   "Pretty, too," Sandy said.  "I like her smile."

   "Like your smile, little one.  You use your whole face."

   She batted her lush eyelashes, a guaranteed 'melt your daddy's heart'
move.  "I'm glad you married 'er, Dad.  I wanted you to be happy."

   "I am, Sandy.  And even happier with you here." I smiled.  "I love you,
little girl."

   "I love you too, Dad," she said, arms around my neck.  She released me
and sat back.  "So I guess since you're married, I won't be able to crawl
in your bed in the middle of the night if I get scared, huh?"

   "Do you still get scared, baby?" Nightmares used to wake her up crying.

   "No, but that doesn't mean that I wanna sleep by myself all night." She
sighed.  "But you're married, and a husband's s'posed to sleep with his
wife..."

   "A husband and wife are supposed to have private time together," I said.

   "I kinda know about that, Dad," she said matter of factly.  "But..."

   "But why don't we talk with Nina about this, okay?  She's my wife.  She
gets to help decide, right?" I smiled at her.

   "Yessir," she agreed.

   I heard the shower stop, a brief period of bumping around, then the hair
dryer started.  Normally I'd be in the bathroom starting my own shower now,
if indeed we hadn't showered together, a more likely occurrence, but I
decided to wait so Nina would be there with Sandy.  Not that I didn't trust
Sandy.  I just thought she'd be happier if one of us was with her.

   "So what's this about you wanting to take piano lessons, sweetie?" I
asked.

   "Dad, I want to make music, don'tcha think?" She gazed into my eyes.  "I
like our music.  I wanna be able to play some of it."

   "Baby, it takes years of lessons and practicing a lot, not just a lesson
a week, you know."

   Exasperated.  "I KNOW that, Dad.  I have a friend who takes lessons. 
For TWO years.  And she's starting to be able to play stuff I can
recognize." She got her serious look on.  "But Dad, I think I can do better
than her.  I tried on her piano.  And I just think I could do better."

   "So what's your mom say, sweetie?" I asked.

   "Mom an' Harry BOTH said we don't have enough money to do that right
now." She sighed.

   I filed that bit of information for further consideration as I heard the
hair dryer shut off in the bathroom.  Nina swept in, her nightshirt ending
just at mid-thigh.  I could see the traces of panties underneath it.  But
then I looked, okay?  Close.

   "You got it now, Dan," Nina chirped.

   Sandy got off my lap.  I stood and Nina kissed me, a quick little peck.

   "You don't get away that easy," I laughed, catching her waist with my
hand and stealing a longer kiss.

   "Go get your shower!" she said.  "We wanna get a game of cards in before
we go to bed.  We need to get up early in the morning!"

   "Yeah, Dad," Sandy added.

   I was done in twenty minutes.  I joined them in the living room.  They
were sitting cross-legged on the floor and Nina was shuffling cards,
smiling.

   I joined them on the floor as Nina started dealing cards.  "Sandy wanted
to know how I felt if she crawled in bed with us, Dan."

   I looked at first one, then the other, one dark brown, one blonde, one a
half a head taller, two sets of blue eyes.  "Yeah, she talked to me about
it.  I told her that you got to sleep with me."

   "Dad," Sandy said, "I told you that I understand about people bein'
married an' stuff, but I used to ...  When you were still with Mom..." She
glanced at Nina.  "I'm sorry ...  I didn't..."

   Nina smiled at Sandy.  "Sweetie, I know your dad was married.  I know
how you got here, you know..."

   Sandy said, "Uh-huh, but like, you know, when it's time to go to sleep
...  Last night I wanted to.  But we didn't talk about it, so I didn't."

   "Sandy, do you still sleep with your mom?"

   "No, Daddy..." she said.  I knew when she shifted from 'Dad' to 'Daddy'
I was being manipulated.  "But I don't get to see YOU very often..." Big
blue eyes.  "An' I miss you..."

   Nina said, "Dan, I don't think it'd hurt, once in a while, honey."

   "I guess not." I was beat.  And not just the conversation.  I lost the
card game, too.

   Sandy skipped off to the bathroom.

   "Babe," Nina smiled, "we'll have our time.  I don't want you to be
deprived, you know..."

   "Do I still get to see you smile?  Then I'm NOT deprived."

   Nina continued, "But she misses her daddy, and it's okay, babe!  Really!
We just have to wear clothes, okay?  Just go with it."

   I reached over and pulled her to kiss.  I heard footsteps.  Sandy. 
Caught us kissing.  And she was smiling.

   "Baby," I said to her, "If you want to sleep with us, it's okay.  But
not every night, all right?"

   Squeal!  Group hug.  "Dad!  I know you an' my Nina get time together,
'kay!  But I miss you!"

   "Okay, little princess.  I guess I get the middle, then.  Tonight." We
retired to the bedroom, me, Nina, Sandy and Sam the cat.  I got in the
middle.  Since we started sleeping together, Nina was always on my left, so
that sort of set things up.  I got the middle and Sandy crawled in on the
right side.  And Sam crawled in between my feet.  I'd tolerate him there
until I needed to roll over, and then he'd begrudge me a move before
re-anchoring himself.

   Nina reached to the bedside table and set the radio for an hour of
late-night classical music.  I got a chaste good night kiss from her, then
another little hug and kiss and "I love you, Dad," from Sandy.  And we went
to sleep.

   By this stage of the game, Nina and I had found a way to sleep together,
adapting to each other's movements without waking up too much.  We seemed
to exchange touches and caresses as we moved while we slept together.

   Adding Sandy to the bed, though ...  When I rolled in the direction of
Nina, I felt her butt push back against me and I wrapped her in my arms and
she reacted by purring.  I was cuddling my lover.

   When I rolled in the opposite direction though, it was a smaller form,
and I was a father again, protecting my offspring.  I think Sandy was doing
calisthenics all night, though, and the elbows and knees of a ten year old
girl are BONEY.

   In spite of that obstacle, we slept.  The alarm went off at six, we
filled Sam's food and water dispensers, hauled out the trash, loaded the
rest of the bags into the car, and off we went.

   First stop was the McDonalds drive-through, and then it was onto the
open road, looking at four hours of driving, good music on the car stereo,
two passengers who had the astonishing habit of READING, and I had to start
a conversation or two on the way.  An hour out from our destination, I
called the manager of our week's domicile and arranged to meet her upon our
arrival.

   Wasn't a 'beach house'.  Was a condo.  With a boat dock on the canal
behind the building.  And moored at the dock was a twenty-six foot
sailboat. And the beach was a short walk across the beach road from the
building.  And my two passengers were excited.  Nina and I'd talked about
what to expect, but she still acted almost as giddy as Sandy.

   The manager showed up, a lady a few years senior to me, hair somewhere
between blonde and platinum, unquestionably enhanced, and just little too
tan, but she was a businessperson and she smiled and took us through the
sign-offs and took my money while Sandy and Nina unloaded the car.

   "Are you familiar with the boat?" she asked.

   "Boats in general.  I have a certification for bare-hull in the
Caribbean," I said.  "Is there something fancy?"

   "Oh, no," she said.  "Little diesel inboard.  After that, it's just a
little sailboat.  The forty-four footer tied up in front of 'er is mine and
my husband's."

   "Nice," I said, peering out the balcony doors overlooking the canal.

   "You're welcome to come visit this evening.  We'll be there for drinks.
You can bring the girls along."

   "Okay," I said.  "The tall one is my wife.  The short one is my
daughter. From first wife."

   "Oooo-oohhh!" she said.  "Kinda young, huh?  Not meanin' to be nosey..."

   I ran my hand over my short hair.  "Yeah, I'm amazed sometimes myself.
She's some kind of dream, though."

   "Oh, I suppose.  Seriously, come visit us ...  Our granddaughter will be
there.  The youngster?  Ten?  Eleven?"

   "Almost eleven.  Just ask 'er," I laughed.  "We'll come visit," I said
as I was joined by Nina and Sandy.

   "Hi," Nina chirped.  "I'm Nina!  Dan's wife!  And this," she said,
putting her arm around Sandy, "is Sandy.  Dan's daughter.  My stepdaughter
and new best friend."

   Sandy's grin was trophy grade.

   "I'm Brenda Haslett.  My husband and I own this building.  And those
boats.  I just invited ya'll to come visit our boat this evening."

   Nina didn't miss a beat.  "Why, thank you so much!  We'd LOVE to..."

   Brenda left.

   "She seems nice, Dan.  Uh, lunch?"

   "Yeah, lunch, Dad!"

   Part of the load included the starter package of snacks and groceries
and we fixed sandwiches for lunch.

   Naturally, the next thing on the agenda was to change into beach attire,
slather on sunscreen, and head out the door to the beach.  We walked onto
the hot sand with me in the middle, holding hands with a five-foot blonde
Sandy and a five-seven dark brunette Nina, and headed straight for the cool
sand at the edge of the water.  We 'frolicked' in the surf, because that's
what you do with warm surf: frolic.

   Naturally, the appearance of two bikini-clad females attracted a stream
of feral males who had to get close enough to check out the scenery.  Okay,
when you got close, it was obvious that Sandy was a little girl.  Blonde,
laughing.  Promising, but still, "Dude!  She's TEN!"

   Nina, on the other hand ...  healthily tanned from our kayaking and
biking, activities which coincidentally toned her curves nicely.  She
wasn't one of those top-busting D-cup bikini babes, and her bikini was
conservative, but every time I saw her I thought she was a doll.  However,
the presence of a gold band on her finger, coupled with her hand in mine
and a sweet kiss in the Gulf sunlight announced to the predators that the
prey was off limits.

   Inwardly I was glad I'd maintained my own healthy lifestyle.  I wasn't
one of those 'chiseled muscle' types, but I had avoided the 'engineer
spread' and love handles successfully.  The three of us made a nice-looking
set.

   By late afternoon we'd had enough and headed back to the condo, taking
turns in the shower, rinsing the salt off our bodies.  That left us pushing
five PM and dinner, and naturally, beach town, that meant seafood, and then
we were back at the condo, walking down the dock alongside a brightly lit
boat.

   My ten year old daughter joined a couple of similarly aged kids, a boy
and a girl, playing in the lush green grass on the banks of the canal, and
Nina and I approached the boat.

   "Hi, ya'll, come on aboard," Brenda said.

   I held Nina's hand to assist her over the rail, and then followed her.

   Brenda said, "Ya'll introduce yourselves.  This is my husband, Jake!"

   "Hi, Jake, ' I said, "I'm Dan Gleason and this is my wife, Nina!"

   Jake stood and shook our hands.  "Brenda says ya'll are renting the
condo?"

   "Yessir," I said.  "Vacation, for a week.  Here from Louisiana."

   "Ah," he laughed, "then the heat's not a surprise, is it?"

   "Oh, no sir," Nina said.  "but this breeze is so nice."

   "Yeah," he said.  "it gets pleasant when the sun goes down."

   Brenda asked, "Would you like a glass of wine?"

   I looked at Nina.  "You?"

   "Why not?" she smiled.  "I'm eighteen.  And married."

   "Eighteen?" Brenda said, eyebrow raised.  "I thought you looked
young..."

   "We've been married a month.  It's a short, happy story." Her smile was
dazzling.

   "I'm sure it is, darlin'," Brenda said.  "So, you're goin' to college?"

   "In the fall," Nina said.  "Scholarship.  Electrical engineering."

   "Wow," Jake said.  "That's a step!"

   "Yeah," I said.  "She was number three in a graduating class of over
three hundred."

   Jake cut his eyes toward his wife.  "Your niece..."

   Brenda said, "Jake's upset about our niece, my sister's kid.  Sixteen.
Bright.  Pretty..."

   "Stupid!" Jake spat.  "Sophomore in high school.  And pregnant.  Hid it
from her mom and dad for four months ...  She was an honors student.  Was."

   "Jake, sometimes people recover from stuff like that."

   "Sorry," he said.  "Found out about it yesterday.  It disturbs me." His
shoulders heaved a sigh.  "Last year we took a dozen of 'em, her and her
friends, out for a sail.  I know what you're sayin, Dan.  It's not
necessarily the end of things, but that's not the way to bet."

   Nina said softly, "Mister Jake, I'm sorry to hear that, but it's tough
on kids these days.  They get fed so much stuff that messes with their
ideas of right and wrong and smart and stupid.  It's hard and some of them
make mistakes ...  I saw a lot of 'em."

   "I'm sorry, ya'll.  Didn't mean to get all serious." He took a deep
breath.  Brenda patted his shoulder.  "So, are you plannin' on takin' the
little boat out?"

   "Yeah, I was thinking of a little trip out and back, one day, you
know..."

   Thankfully the conversation relaxed into discussion of sailing and the
local waterfront and things that might interest the family.  Next thing I
knew, Sandy and a similarly sized brunette were hanging over the rail.

   "Gran'daddy, can we get a coke?" asked the little girl.

   "Our granddaughter, Shellie.  Actually, Michelle, but nobody calls her
that," Jake said.  "I suppose her little blonde friend is..."

   "My daughter, Sandy," I said.

   Brenda said, "Why don't you bring Sandy and show her the boat, baby?"

   Squeal!  And the thud of two pairs of ten year old feet on the deck.  We
heard Sandy's voice, "Wow!  That's neat!" as Shellie gave her the tour of
the unusual surroundings of a sailboat cabin.

   "Don't open those drinks down there!" Brenda admonished.

   "Yes, ma'am," came the reply, followed by two young girls exiting the
companionway.  Shellie said to Sandy, "This is my Gran'ma Brenda and my
Gran'pa Jake." To them she said, "This is Sandy."

   Sandy waved shyly.

   "Come on, Sandy!  Let's go up front!" Bounce!

   "Forward!" Jake said.  "You're on a boat, Shellie!  It's 'forward'!"

   "Lost cause, Jake," Brenda laughed.

   "I know, baby," he whined, "but she calls everything 'ropes' an'
stuff..."

   Nina rubbed salt in the wound.  She lifted the loose end of a loop of
line coiled neatly over a cleat.  "Like this rope?" She smiled.

   "Baby, what Jake is saying is that properly speaking, that's a line. 
There are no 'ropes' on a boat unless they're still coiled on a spool."

   "Oops!  Sorry!  I need to learn this stuff, then, I guess..."

   "Oh, I get nutty about it, Nina," Jake said.  "I sail, we sail a lot,
and it makes a lot of sense to say 'halyard' or 'mainsheet' or 'topping
lift' to another sailor, because he'll know exactly what you're talking
about.  But for a weekend..."

   I laughed, "Yeah, for a weekend, you can say, 'NO!  Not THAT rope!  The
OTHER rope!  The one with the green stripe!' when your crewperson is
standing within an arms' reach of six different things that look like
'rope' but do six different things.  And one of those functions is
important at the time."

   Brenda patted Nina's knee.  "And if you REALLY wanna get 'im going,
refer to something as a 'thingie' ...  He'll positively turn COLORS!"

   And then "Dad!  Dad!  Can Shellie come sailin' with us tomorrow?"

   I looked to Brenda and Jake.  "I don't mind," I said, "If you don't..."

   "We make her wear a life vest at all times when she's with us and she's
outside the cockpit."

   "Good rule," I said.  "We'll all do that," I said.  "Nina and Sandy have
never been on a sailboat, and I don't mind wearing one myself, especially
if I'm out of the cockpit underway."

   "Tell you what," Brenda said, "You take Shellie with ya'll tomorrow and
we'll return the favor if Sandy wants to go with us one day.  Give you an'
Nina a little day together..."

   Nina smiled demurely.

   "Uh-huh..." Jake grinned.

   We stayed out in the gulf breeze until well after dark, talking,
listening to the kids play, joined by a couple or three more kids of
similar age.  Sometime around ten I saw Sandy appear, looking a little bit
tired.

   I stood.  Nina said, "We have had a lovely evening with ya'll.  I think
Sandy's just about done in, though.N"

   Brenda asked, "What time are you folks leaving in the morning?"

   I said, "Oh, it's vacation.  I figure we'll be on the dock at eight."

   Jake said, "Shellie'll be there.  She's staying with us for the week."

   Sandy nodded enthusiastically.  "Yeah!  I got a friend!"

   I took Nina's hand.  "We're gonna go in.  We enjoyed it!  It's wonderful
meeting you both!" I saw Sandy and Shellie.  "And Shellie, too!"

   I herded my little family into the apartment, recommending quick showers
to rid ourselves of the perspiration that coated us despite the relatively
cool breezes of the evening.  I took advantage of that shower time to
shave. Nina made three cups of herbal tea for us before bedtime.  We sat in
the little living room sipping tea and talking about the day's adventures
and the next day's plans.

   Sandy slept in her own bed this night.  Nina and I engaged in a very
pleasant stress reduction exercise that had us very relaxed when we went to
sleep.

   The alarm went off at six-thirty.  Breakfast.  Prepare an ice chest with
a day's worth of drinks and a bag full of easy to eat snack and we were out
back at the dock, loading onto the sailboat.  I opened up the companionway
and started the little diesel engine to let it warm up, and just as I
expected, Miss Shellie showed up ten minutes early.

   We all boarded and I singled us up to a single looping breastline to the
dock, put the transmission in forward and we motored off.  Ten minutes
later I had Nina on the tiller as I raised sails.  We secured the engine
and headed out on a close reach, just a little bit further off the wind
than absolutely necessary, because I knew we wanted an easy sail out.  More
importantly, though, I wanted us on the best possible leg when we turned
around to come back in.

   We weren't a half mile offshore when the dolphins showed up by the
dozens, surrounding us, cavorting in the sparkling waves.  I'd seen it
before, and I still marveled.  I gathered that Shellie'd seen it before
also.  Nina and Sandy, however, were enchanted by the spectacle of dozens
of dolphins breaking the surface in twos and threes, some almost within
touching distance of the sleek little sailboat's fiberglass hull.

   I had Nina back in the cockpit with me, asking questions, wanting to
learn what I was doing with the sails and why I was doing it.  Shellie and
Sandy were forward seated at the base of the mast safely inside the
lifelines.

   For half the day we beat to windward, then when I figured it was time,
we turned around onto a broad reach back.  The boat's motion settled down,
we took a decent heel, and the stern squatted as we picked up speed. 
Closer in-shore, the dolphins rejoined us bringing happy squeals and
laughter from my crew.  The sun was getting low in the sky when we moored
our boat back at the dock.

   Brenda and Jake were on their boat.  Jake called, "Come on over and get
a drink!"

   That was an invitation that I wasn't going to pass up.  Sandy and
Shellie bounced off with the unlimited energy possessed by kids and joined
another group up the bank of the canal.  Nina and I joined Brenda and Jake.

   Conversation started off about the day's sail.  I recounted Nina and
Sandy's glee over the visiting dolphins.  We talked about work and life and
the area's attractions that didn't make the tourist brochures, giving Nina
and I more fodder and making us wish we'd rented for more than a week.  I
said so.

   "We don't have it booked next week," Brenda said.  "If ya'll want it..."

   Nina looked at me.  I winked.

   "We want it," she said.

   So two weeks of beaches and sailboats and kayaks and sun and water.

   Two days later, Shellie invited Sandy on a day's outing with her
grandparents, leaving Nina and me a day all to ourselves.  Sandy bounced
out the door, beachbag in hand, with Shellie.

   Now, you have to understand that we had not been avoiding physical
contact in Sandy's presence.  Of course, we kept it "G-rated", but we
always hugged and kissed and cuddled.  Sometimes the cuddling was the
'group hug' variety, with Sandy a happy inclusion, and other times they
were me and my happy wife, and Sandy saw two people who she loved, engaged
in a physical expression of that love.  But all that was G-rated.

   We'd managed to make love, too, taking advantage of Sandy being in her
room.  But you have to know that having Sandy around did somewhat limit our
exuberance.  I hadn't had my 'naked Nina on the sofa' time.  And here we
were, with the condo to ourselves.

   Nina turned to me.  "You have clothes on, sir..." Her eyes were
twinkling.

   A condition easily rectified, given the proper incentive.  Five feet
seven inches of happy eighteen year old falls soundly into the category of
'incentive', especially when she's stripping out of her panties.  I do
believe I was raped on the sofa.  Accosted in the hallway.  Molested in the
kitchen.  And in bed, I gave in ...  Hands and mouths merged into
mechanisms of sharing love and pleasure and when our mouths clamped
together, our nether regions were merged in delightful moisture.

   After I allowed myself release, we lay in each other's arms.

   "I love you, baby," she said.

   "I love you too, brown-haired girl.  You bring new dimension to my
life." I kissed her sleek, although somewhat tousled head.

   She sighed.  "I love us having Sandy, but I've been wanting to just cut
loose with YOU for days..."

   "Me, too, baby..." I looked at her pretty form and started kissing my
way over her body, headed downward.

   "Oh, yessss," she said through clenched teeth.  She liked this.  So did
I.  I loved her scent, her taste, the way she reacted, that final little
quiver at the end of her orgasm, the flush over her face and breasts.

   I was holding her freshly pinkened form in my arms afterward.

   "Goshhhhh!" she sighed.

   I rocked with her in my arms.

   Finally she said, "Why don't we, uh ...  go out for a swim, then eat one
of those horrible hotdogs they sell on the beach, then come back here and
spend the afternoon right here..."

   "I think you have wonderful ideas, dearest," I said.  "Come on!"

   Clad in our bathing attire, we walked across the street, onto the beach,
and into the warm gulf waters.  Surf.  Frolicking.  This time with longer,
more adventurous gropings.  After a time, we strolled out of the water and
per our plan, each had a horrible, over-priced hot dog and a cold drink and
then walked back into the condo.  Showered together.  And back in bed.

   In the early evening, we slipped out for dinner.

   "You know, Dan, it's really working out well with Sandy around," Nina
said.

   "I know," I said honestly.  "Not a bit of friction.  I worried that
there'd be some little girl jealousy or something..."

   "But none of that happened, baby," she said.  "Sometimes she seems so
mature about things, then she takes off like a ten year old kid ...  and
then she comes back and sounds like YOU..."

   "I'm just glad you two hit it off." I was.  Even with Sandy being a
part-time daughter, I dearly loved her and wished I could be more of a
daddy to her.  Nina knew this, and she told me that she'd had phone talks
with Sandy about it.  "But," I said, "I'm starting to hear some bits of
Nina creeping in..."

   Giggle.  "You say that like it's a BAD thing..." she grinned.

   "Nope, I am very happy about that.  Ever since the haircut thing.  Her
mom might not be, though."

   "She'll be okay, Dan.  She's smart and she's got a strong personality."

   We ate our dinner, chatting, watching the beachgoers walking by our
location on the sidewalk.  After dinner, we went back to the condo.  Well,
after one or two little dances to the live music at the beachside bistro.

   Sandy came back a bit after dark.  She showered, we played cards and
then went to bed.  All three of us.  Me in the middle.  Sweet Nina on one
side.  Little Miss Knees and Elbows on the other.

   Friday of the second week we woke up with most everything packed.  The
three of us were tanned several shades darker than we were when we arrived.
Nina's hair had definite sun streaking.  But it was time to go back home.
Reluctantly.

   We made our good-byes with Brenda and Jake.  Sandy exchanged phone
numbers and addresses with Shellie and a couple of other kids with whom
she'd formed summer friendships