Path To Redemption (Fighter's Den, #1)

Chapter 8 - Emily

"I didn't know I was your girl." I state in dry questioning. Cameron nods eagerly.

"We practically sealed the deal when you got a nice eyeful of my thrusting."

"Are we seriously back to this?"

"Should I demonstrate again?" He looks so sincere that I have to laugh.

"So what are you doing here, anyways?" Cameron asks, slinging an arm around me.

My amusement fades when I realize I actually came all the way here in hopes of seeing Jaxon. He's not even around the gym. What had I been thinking? Oh right, I wasn't.

"Just here to see my dad about something." I lie smoothly.

"Fantastic. Now's the perfect time to go get his blessing about your hand in marriage." He starts leading me towards dad's office and I shove him off of me with a giggle.

"Stay here." I point downwards at the spot we're standing and Cameron pouts. With a roll of my eyes, I give his cheek a quick kiss and head into my dad's office. Might as well see him now that I'm here. I knock on his door lightly before turning the knob and stepping inside.

"Hey da-" My greeting cuts off abruptly and I'm slightly horrified at what's before me.

My big, hulking father looks like he took a hard bitch-smack to the face from a box of crayola, Disney edition. Seriously. He's got on green eye shadow that reaches all the way up to his eyebrows, his cheeks are coloured with two precise pink circles, the red lipstick he wears is so heavily applied that it makes his mouth look three sizes bigger than it usually is, and a smattering of glitter decorates his hair. What. The. Hell.

"Hey, sweetheart." He grins at me, all nonchalant, and I'm beginning to think that maybe I'm still asleep in my bed because what the fuck kind of alternate universe did I step into?

"Dad...why do you look like that?" I ask cautiously. Maybe he was feeling neglected? Did I need to stop by more often? Did losing my mother peak this newfound interest?

My dad points out a finger and only then do I notice the little girl sitting on the floor with him.

"Say hi to my daughter, darlin'." Dad tells the little girl and she beams up at me with a toothy grin. My heart muddles into mush and I'm instantly taken with her. Holy shit, she's freaking adorable.

"Hi! I made your daddy a princess!" She exclaims and smiles so wide, two dimples pop out on both of her cheeks.

I have to admit, I'm impressed. My dad is one of those men that gets as masculine as they can be so for this little girl to turn him into...that, means she's probably got him wrapped around her finger.

"Is that so...princess?" I cock a brow at my dad.

"Yup." He nods. "I'm supposedly late for the magic ball."

Can this get any weirder?

"That reminds me. I have to go get more glitter from my car."

Apparently it can.

"Here. Watch her for me, will ya?" He says, standing up. I'm slightly alarmed that he's leaving me with a child I have no identification of.

"Are you seriously going to your car to get glitter?" I ask incredulously. Why the hell does he even have it to begin with? He stops beside me in the doorway.

"Yes. And beads for when we braid our hair."

My jaw hits the floor.

The little girl giggles and it's such a sweet sound that I find myself observing her again. Her ringlets of brown hair are tied into two ponytails on either side of her head and she's totally rocking the poofiest pink dress I've ever seen. She has a large smile, save for a few missing teeth, and rosy cheeks that are so plump I want to bite them. But it's her eyes that give me pause. Something about that shade of green seems alarmingly familiar to me. In fact, I've only seen it on one person. When it hits me, I gasp in surprise and turn to my father.