Marc Nassar

Everything has been going great—exactly how Celeste said it would. Actually, not just great. It's been amazing being here with the girls.

We spent the first hour and a half walking past exhibits and seeing a range of animals like flamingos, monkeys, penguins, and lemurs. With every animal, the girls would point out exactly what it was doing and then would ask me questions about why it was doing that. And with the way the girls were eating up what I was saying, zoology might as well be listed as one of my skill sets. Why did I wait so long to do something like this with them? This is truly the most fun I've had in a long time.

"Dad, can we go straight to the lions? I can't wait any longer!" Nina says before taking a big swig of water. We're sitting on a green picnic bench in the outdoor cafeteria area, finishing up our lunch. The food stands didn't have anything remotely healthy and I may have had a small panic moment earlier because of it. But after some internal debate, I ended up ordering us all chicken tenders and fries with three jumbo cups of water to wash it all down. The girls devoured their meals faster than the spotted hyenas we saw. And now I keep reminding myself it's a one time thing and today is a special day.

"Let's go see some lions!" I say.

"Okay, I finished my food!" Nina says just as her sister says, "All done! Let's go!"

We clean up and head straight for the lion exhibit, following the colorful signs along the pathway. "Lions are like big, cute cats. Rawr!" Nina says.

"Rawr! Lions!" Laila adds.

"I didn't realize you girls liked lions so much."

"We don't like them. We love them!"

I chuckle and glance up to find the lion pen in the distance. "Look, there it is!" I point ahead. They shriek and take off running toward the exhibit. "Woah, slow down!" I jog after them. There's a light crowd that's circled around the open air pen, which has black railing around the perimeter. My girls are making their way through the gaps between people and I follow closely behind them until we reach the railing.

From our view, there are two lions curled up together, sleeping peacefully in the sandy terrain and partly hidden by rocks and shaded by trees. With the way Nina and Laila are jumping and giggling excitedly, those lions might as well be doing a song and dance number for them.

"What do you girls think?" I bend down to their eye level to try to see the lions from their perspective.

"They're so cute!" Laila says, just as Nina instantly goes quiet.

"Nina?" I glance over to find her staring at her shorts. "Nina, you okay?" Then, I see it. The rapidly expanding wet spot in the middle of Nina's shorts and the streams down her legs ending in a puddle on the floor between her feet. "Oh my God, Nina. Do you need to use the bathroom?"

She looks at me, her eyes now glassy. "I peed!" she yells out and immediately starts bawling.

I stand up and lean over, fully aware of the eyes now spotlighting on us. "Habibti, don't cry. It's okay!" Shit, I have no clue what to do. My mind starts rapid firing and I glance around for anything that could soak up her pee. But I can't find anything, only more people staring at us. My heartbeat drums loudly in my ears as Nina continues to sob. Laila and I try to calm her down but she cannot be consoled.

"Just use the extra clothes you brought with you," someone yells over Nina's sobs next to me.

I turn around to find a woman with three kids, looking like the most professional mom there ever was—a triple seat stroller, two backpacks, and her kids currently chomping on carrot snacks from their seats, watching the Worst Parent Show. "I don't have any extra clothes," I say to her.

"You always need extra clothes," she says with confusion before sighing and pulling her stroller of children away from us, as if what she's witnessed disgusts her.

Oh my God, we need to get out of here. "Laila, take your sister's hand. We're leaving." Why the hell didn't I think to bring a bag of stuff? I always see Heidi with one. Shit, of course something like this would happen and I would have no way of handling it.

Thankfully, the exit isn't that far from the exhibit, and we're there in less than five minutes. Yet, once we step past the gates, Laila starts crying too. Oh my God, this is turning into a nightmare. "Laila? What's wrong?" I look down but don't see anything like pee.

"I don't want to leave the zoo!" she yells out and flings Nina's hand out of hers.

"We have to, c'mon let's go." I pick up both of my crying daughters under my arms like they're sacks of flour and briskly head to the car. Nina spending the whole day sticky and smelly with urine feels like it would be a bad decision. Taking them home is my only option. After strapping them into their seats, I try talking to them, but it's no use. My resolve to leave solidifies. I send a text to Celeste.

Marc: Hey, heading home early. Be there soon.

Despite going home four hours earlier than planned, we can figure something else out—something that's a lot more manageable.

Pain fills my chest as the girls continue to wail. Why was I so ambitious? The zoo on my own? Really?

After about five minutes into the drive back home, they start to settle down. "I'm so sorry, Baba," Nina says, sniffling in the back seat.

"It's okay, Nina. These things happen," I say while trying to mentally tell myself the same thing. Why am I so bad at this?

"Dad?" Nina says.

"Yes, habibti?"

"Thank you for taking us to the zoo. I had a lot of fun," she says in a shaky voice and my heart twists.

"You did?" I ask. My chest starts feeling a little lighter.

"Yeah."

"Dad?" Laila says in a nasal voice.

"Yes, albe?"

"When we get home, are you going to go to work?"

I hesitate. It would be so easy to jump back into my office, and catch up on all the missed emails and phone calls I got this morning. My gut churns. What would Celeste think about this?

"No, I'm taking the day off today, remember? I figured once you girls get cleaned up, we can go for a swim together in the pool." I glance up to catch them in the rearview mirror and bright smiles emerge over their faces.

"Really?" Laila asks, the sadness from moments ago instantly gone.

"Yes, what do you think of that?"

"I'm so excited!" Laila says just as Nina says, "I love swimming!"

Wow, it's like night and day. The girls are grinning from ear to ear, the zoo now completely forgotten. "Maybe Ms. Celeste will already be there and can join us," I add, feeding off of their excitement.

It isn't long before we get back home and the girls are fighting to get out of their car seats. Their excitement is like an aloe vera balm over a wound. Maybe today isn't as disastrous as it was turning out to be. Something happened, and we just changed course. The girls still got to go to the zoo and see the lions, so what if we left earlier?

Stepping into the quiet and empty house, I check my phone to see if there are any messages from Celeste. Nothing. Just a bunch of emails from staff and clients that I force myself to ignore. Maybe Celeste is at the pool and left her phone in her room? There's a pep in my step as Nina, Laila, and I make our way upstairs to our rooms. The girls' energy is bouncing off the walls and jumping right into my veins.

Once I'm in my swim trunks, I check on my daughters and find that they're trying to decide what swimsuits to wear. "Dad! Don't come in! I'm getting my pee clothes off!" Nina yells from their walk-in closet which connects the girls' rooms.

"Okay, just checking if everything is alright. I'm going to be downstairs by the pool and will turn on the waterslide. Just come down whenever you're ready."

I throw my towel over my shoulder and head downstairs. Reaching the glass door that leads out back, I spot Celeste laying on one of the sun loungers by the pool. My pulse picks up speed and I take a deep breath as I open the door. I'm about to see her in a bikini and I need to keep my eyes on her face and nothing below it. I step over the threshold and start walking toward her, but immediately stop in my tracks when I take her in.

Holy fuck. Is Celeste topless?

Spikes of heat fill me and my dick springs to life as I take in the two big globes that are sat atop her chest. They're rising and falling so gracefully with each breath she takes. I yank off my sunglasses, which could very well be playing tricks on me.

Nope. Those are two pinkish brown nipples with...holy shit. Those piercings. The silver studs on each nipple glint in the sun, as if begging me to take a closer look.

Suddenly, I don't know what to do with my hands. I turn around because I shouldn't be staring at a naked woman without her permission. But then I turn around again to double check if my mind might be the one tricking me here.

Fuck. No, no trickery here. Just some amazing tits in plain view. I don't know what to do. I keep wanting to look, but she doesn't know I'm here. Why doesn't she know I'm here? I'm like ten feet away from her. I fidget and clear my throat, hoping it'll alert her. She doesn't move or look over, still laying motionless under the sun, with sunglasses covering her eyes.

I clear my throat again and say "Celeste" at normal volume level. My voice sounds strained against my ears. When she doesn't respond again, my heart thunders. Is she okay? I slowly make my way over to her sun lounger, my eyes still glued to her chest. I can't look away even if I went blind, as I'd know these glorious breasts would still be there.

As I get closer to her, I hear her deep breathing. She must have fallen asleep.

Gulping, I lean down. Wow, she wasn't kidding when she said she had an amazing rack. I almost don't want to wake her. She woke up early—she needs sleep. I lean back up and I can't stop staring. Stop staring!

She shifts and a small huff of air escapes her. I'm still standing over her, unable to move or do anything. Her body shifts ever so slightly again and then movement over her mouth catches my attention. I glance up to find a smile pulling at her lips and redness sweeping her cheeks. "Well," she says in the sexiest voice mankind has ever heard and the blood in my body rushes south faster, "I guess no point hiding them now." Her eyes must be open even though I can't see them through her dark shades. Shit, what was I supposed to do with my hands again? "Do they live up to the hype?" she asks.

I'm completely speechless. All I can do is nod slowly with my mouth open like a teenager seeing boobs for the first time.

Her smile widens and she sits up, stretching her arms high in the air in the process and making her breasts bounce into another position that is as equally amazing as the last. My dick is now rock solid and I can see from my peripherals that my swim trunks are tenting. She shifts her glasses down the bridge of her nose and her blue eyes rake down my body. "Just so you know, I like what I see too," she says before pressing her sunglasses back against her face while smirking.

She starts leaning back down on the sunlounger but then less than a second later jerks forward with a look of horror on her face. "Oh my God, are the girls okay?" She jumps up and stands to face me, completely unaware of all the hypnotic movement happening on her chest. Gravity does wonderous things. "What happened, Marc?" Celeste asks with urgency.

"Every-" I stop to clear my throat. "Everything is fine, Celeste. The girls are getting their swimsuits on."

She lets out a breath and laughs, bringing a hand to her chest where my attention hasn't left. "Oh my God, I almost had a heart attack." She pauses and then takes her glasses off. "Wait, why are you–" she starts to say, but the sound of the door opening behind us makes her stop. The girls' high pitched voices travel through the air and my muscles freeze while Celeste's eyes go wide.

Without thinking, I pull Celeste's topless body against mine and jump into the pool with my arms wrapped around her.