LUKE
There's only so much coffee one man can take until the effects stop working. In my case, seven cups- and that isn't even in the span of one morning.
My head hurts and I lean against the dresser. It feels like someone's pounding a mallet into my skull. I shouldn't be this effected- I've done way worse than taking body shots off of a line of about fifteen people- but I am. It's unnerving.
"So, you gonna give me a goodbye kiss, or what?" Charlotte's looking at me with her handbag in one hand, her other preoccupied with keeping the zipper of her dress together. I'd ripped it in a haste the night before and though I offered to buy her a new one, she refused.
"Leaving so soon?" my voice is gruff as I try to avoid her question. She chuckles.
"The girls will be wondering where I am. Better meet them downstairs before then," she leans in, presses her lips against mine. I don't kiss back. I can't find the energy or the will to. "See you, Hemmings. Thanks for last night." I duck my head down as she gives me a wink.
I watch as Charlotte exits the hotel room, waving with a long hand before letting the door slam shut.
I'm a mixture of dazed and confused, standing in the middle of my hotel room with a mug of coffee and a lipstick stain overlining my mouth. I need more sleep. I'm not going to get it, but at least I know I'm lacking something.
I should probably check on Sophie. I was going to last night, hell, I even left her a dozen missed calls, but Charlotte wouldn't even let me leave the damn bed. Nevermind the room.
Placing the mug of coffee down, I tousle the nest that is my bedhead. Then I sigh and walk over to the wall, taking a quick peek in the mirror.
A mess is what I am; a sexually disorientated mess with bags big enough to carry things from IKEA under my eyes. I'm lucky Charlotte even agreed to coming home with me last night.
I get dressed, slipping on a pair of sweatpants as I hook a shirt over my shoulder. It's cold but I'm lazy, and as I lock the door to the spare hotel room, I make my way to Sophie's.
I'm hoping that she's still asleep. And hopefully, she didn't wake up to anything in the middle of the night because that would really make for an awkward conversation starter.
At least you called to check up on her. Although that's true, I still left her to sleep on her own. I've never done that before and I don't think she'll be very pleased.
I peek through the door to her hotel room, slowly at first. I'm surprised once my eyes land on her, quietly humming to herself as she sits cross legged on the bed.
She's got a hoodie on, my hoodie, her knees tucked up to her chest. She's not rocking back and forth so she's not crying. The scene is almost the most peaceful thing I've seen.
She's facing the window, away from me, staring at the view of something beautiful beyond the plexiglass.
I swallow. Sophie's looking at how breathtaking the city is, at the buildings, at the cars- but all I'm looking at is how stunning my little girl looks in an oversized sweatshirt.
I shift my weight from one foot to the other. Goddamnit, Heart, stop pounding. Calm the fuck down. What the-
"Daddy?"
It goes over my head completely and I almost don't respond. I dig my nails into the flesh of my palm. What the fuck are you doing?
"Daddy."
Oh, god. Sophie turns around, her wide eyes landing on me. She blushes.
Pink crowds her cheeks as she looks away, at the pillow next to her and at the sheets that go along with it. I'm almost confused as to why she's avoiding my gaze, until I realize that I have no shirt on.
"S-Sorry," I mumble, quickly slipping the thin material on. It takes a short while because I'm lanky and my limbs don't seem to cooperate, but she doesn't need to know that. "You can look now, baby."
Sophie does so and I swear her face is as red as ever. It's a mystery as to why, for she's seen me shirtless many times before. She's never reacted like this, however, and the thought intrigues me.
I don't know why she's suddenly acting all strange about it now, but a lot of strange things have been happening lately so I decide not to press on.
I carefully walk over to her, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed. The mattress sinks ever so slightly and I suddenly feel awful for leaving her alone last night without so much as a warning.
The view outside truly is amazing. The usually quiet streets of Brisbane are now filled with 24/7 traffic, and people look like ants from the penthouse suite given to us by management.
Sophie shifts, scoots closer to me. She holds her little arms out and I wrap my own around her frame. It doesn't take long for the silence to settle but once it does, she parts her lips to speak.
"Daddy?" she looks at me, doe eyes filled with a type of curiosity that makes my heart melt.
"Yes, little girl?"
"Where were you last night?"
My eyes widen, not expecting her to come out with it in such a straightforward manner- mainly because I held onto the hope that she didn't know.
Fuck, I wince. So, she was awake.
"Nowhere, baby. Just out." I lie.
"With who?"
"With a friend." unlike the other, this one isn't lie. Charlotte will probably become a friend after this- just, not the sort of friend you can hang out with without getting naked.
"Who is she?"
"She's-" I pause. It takes a while for Sophie's words to register in my head. "Wait,"
"What?"
"How do you know it's a she?"
"Hm?" she looks away, as if realizing her own mistake.
"I never said anything about them being a girl," I furrow my eyebrows.
Sophie bites her lip, and as she does so, another thought crosses my mind and I want to wash the entirety of my head out with bleach.
"Y-You didn't?"
"No, little one. I didn't."
"Lucky guess," she giggles her nervous little giggle and somehow, for some reason, my heart flutters. I feel like holding it down with a few loose chains, just to give myself a break. "Where did you go?"
"Who?"
"You and your friend."
"My friend?" I forget things at the worst times.
"Your girl friend." she reminds me. I can't help but notice how she winces when she says it. Maybe I'm just paranoid, or maybe I'm not and she really is bothered by it.
"Oh," I rub my thumb on the softness of her skin. My fingers are probably freezing but Sophie doesn't seem to mind, so I keep at it. "Just to a party."
"What party?"
"What's with all the questions?" I ask amusedly, tucking her hair behind her ear. I decide to change the conversation, to save both of us from confessions that do more harm than good. "We need to get Sadie to give you a haircut."
For a split second her eyes pause on me, as if contemplating whether or not to let it go. Thankfully, Sophie's attention is diverted and I'm very grateful for the fact that she can never stay concentated on one thing for too long. "No," she pouts.
"No?"
"I don't like it when Sadie cuts my hair," Sophie whines, and all of a sudden, it's like she's seven again and begging me not to take her to the hairdresser's. "She does it weird."
"At least she does it." I smile.
"But it's ugly."
"Nothing can look ugly on such a pretty little girl."
"Daddy," she buries her head in the crook of my neck, face growing hot yet again, and I grin because of the state I know I can put her in. "I don't wanna ask Sadie."
"Oh, sweetheart," I chuckle, pulling her in closer to me. "How else are we going to get your hair cut?"
"We're not." she huffs, crossing her arms.
"Little one, we can't leave your hair looking like this. Doesn't it get uncomfortable?"
"No."
"Doesn't it get knotty?"
She pauses. "No."
"Annoying to tie up?"
"Maybe."
"Tangled?"
"Sometimes."
"Gets caught on your earrings?"
"All the time!" I laugh as she snakes her short arms around my torso, squeezing our bodies together.
Placing my hand on the small of her back, I hold her upright with my other arm, relaxing once she snuggles into me.
I love it when we have moments like this. It makes me feel needed and loved and I feel like less of a failure.
"Daddy?" I turn from the Brisbane view to her, soaking in her appearance. She wants to talk to me about something, I can tell- she's speaking in her soft, 'I don't know if I can ask you this' voice.
"Yes, baby?"
"Is she pretty?" I frown. "Your girl friend." a lump forms in my throat because now I know she's smart enough not to forget. I'm stupid to think that she would have, and now I'm speechless.
"I-"
"You left our bed to share one with her," she says it with so much innocence that it makes me feel worse than I already do. She knows. "So she must be really pretty, right?"
"N-No," I find myself gripping her waist tighter, not wanting to let go. "No one can be as pretty as you, baby girl."
"Except for her."
"Except for no-one."
"Then why did you leave me for her?"
"I didn't leave you, baby."
"Yes you did."
"I didn-"
"I heard you two."
"W-what?"
"She called you Luke and you called her a bad word," my cheeks redden and I want to die of embarrassment. "And the headboard broke."
"Oh, fuck," I pinch the bridge of my nose, will myself to count to ten to control the amount of anxiety growing in my chest.
Sophie places a small finger on my chin, tilting my head to look at her.
"You said that, too." Fucking hell.
"Baby, I'm sorry," I hug her in the tightest way possible, sighing, crying inside, biting my lip on the outside because I don't know how to show my guilt without it coming across as halfhearted. "Oh, god, I didn't mean for you to-"
"It's okay, Daddy."
"But it's not," I stop her before she can say anymore. I cup her cheek with my hand, moving her face so that it's right in front of mine. "I shouldn't be doing those things around you, sweetheart. It's inappropriate-"
"It's okay." she attempts to say, but I can tell it's not.
"I'll make it up to you," I kiss her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, hearing her giggle and watching her face light up. "I promise. I will. And it'll never happen again," I hold out my pinky finger because I know Sophie uses it as a legitimate foundation of trust. "I pinky promise."
I see her smile, reluctantly hooking her own through mine with steady movements.
"Daddy, you can't break this now," she jokes softly, and I chuckle.
"I know. And I never will." I kiss her nose once more and the urge to carry on kissing all over her face comes out of nowhere. I hold myself back though, and thankfully Sophie doesn't notice.
"Okay," she relaxes into me, her gaze now flickering back to Brisbane as she mutters something else. "I love you, Daddy."
I hook my arms around her, protectively, feeling like I'm on top of the world yet falling at the same time. "Daddy loves you too, baby girl."
❥
SHITDICKS I WANT A DADDY LUKE LIKE THIS ISNT FUNNY ANYMORE I GET S H o oK
ALSOOO ARE YOU A LUKE GIRL, A MICHAEL GIRL, A CALUM GIRL oR AN ASHTON GIRL? I'm genuinely curious bc at this point I'm on a sideways bus that goes through all of their lanes oOPS
Thank you guys so so so much for reading! I rly hope you're liking Daddy's Girl so far! I love you all, take care :-)
-M xxx