In the very best of circumstances, life is unpredictable. Sometimes, whether through hubris or foolishness, we assume things will stay the same tomorrow. In stark contrast to our assumptions, reality thrives on throwing the occasional curveball, just to keep things interesting. I’m no stranger to the unpredictableness life has to offer. Those curveballs have come my way more times than I can recall. Even so, I found myself caught completely off guard that night, when a simple call for help changed everything.

The first major curveball life threw my way came in September 1987. Due to my dad's job relocation, we found ourselves in a completely new town. The local school had already begun its third week by the time we relocated. In the first grade, that might as well be an eternity. Friendships were established. Cliques were formed. As the teacher introduced me to the children in the room, I couldn't help but feel like a stranger, alone in the world.

Thankfully, my misery was short-lived. That afternoon at recess, I was busy standing by myself just past the kickball field when a kid came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey,” he began as I turned around. “You’re the new kid, right? Scott Jackson?”

“Yup, that’s me,” I answered nervously, unsure of where this conversation was going.

Much to my surprise, he started laughing. “That’s so cool! Scott Jackson, I’m Jackson Scott!”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but that moment would radically change the trajectory of both of our lives. We quickly became the closest friends. We were so inseparable that everyone started calling us “Scott and Scotty.” We stuck together all through grade school, into high school, and even went to the same university. When Scotty married Carol, I was his best man. When Betsy and I tied the knot a few months later, Scotty returned the favor. We were always there for each other.

Of course, that held true in the difficult times, too. When Scotty’s parents died in the car accident, I stepped up and helped him get through everything. Then, when Betsy got sick, Scotty was right there by my side, ready to help in any way he could. After the funeral, he didn’t think twice about opening his home up to me. I essentially lived with him and Carol for the first month after her passing. I know it must have been a burden for them, but they never once complained.

After losing Betsy, I struggled for a while to regain my sense of direction. I mean, I was still getting up, going to work, and generally contributing to society, but it all felt so shallow. It felt as though there was a void in my life, a sense of numbness.

As weird as it sounds, the thing that finally brought me back to life inside was getting to hold April for the first time. Scotty came to me before she was even born, asking if I’d be her godfather and a kind of surrogate uncle, since neither he nor Carol had any family in the area. Betsy and I had wanted kids of our own, so I agreed without a second thought. I’ve got to tell you though, nothing could have prepared me for that moment when Scotty handed her to me in Carol’s recovery room. Getting to hold that new life woke me back up, reminding me I had a reason for being.

I became obsessed with being the best uncle ever from that moment on. Whenever Scotty and Carol needed help with April, I stepped up. As the years progressed, Carol would joke that April had a mom and two dads, and sometimes it really felt that way. I helped April learn to ride a bike, taught her how to drive a car with a stick shift, and even helped her parents plan her high school graduation party this past May.

This takes me back to a few weeks ago. Carol’s mom was going in for fairly serious knee surgery, so Scotty and Carol drove up to Wisconsin to stay with her until she was able to get back to walking on her own. April had just started in college, so she opted to stay back and watch the house while they were gone, and I agreed to pop in every now and then to make sure she was doing okay.

The morning after they left town, the weather started deteriorating. By early evening, we were under a severe storm warning. Lightning flashed across the sky as thunder shook my windows and rain hammered the roof. I love a good storm, so I grabbed a couple beers and headed out to my front porch to watch the torrential downpour unfold.

I’d nearly finished the second beer when I heard my cell phone ringing. I pulled the phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. It was April.

“Hey kiddo,” I began, holding the phone up to my ear. “What’s up?”

Instead of an answer, all I heard was April sobbing on the other end of the line.

“April?” I asked, standing up from my chair as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Scott,” she cried into the phone. “I didn’t want to bother you, but I need your help.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here,” I reassured her, stepping back into my house. “Just take a deep breath. Try to stay calm, and tell me what’s going on.”

I could hear April inhaling sharply before letting out a deep breath, and then she told me the whole story. During the storm, the power went out at their house. April has always been terrified about being alone in the dark, but all she had for light was the flashlight on her phone. She decided that she’d run to the store and pick up a couple battery-operated lanterns so she’d at least have something to get through the night. On her way to the store, one of her tires blew out. Despite managing to pull over and retrieve the spare tire and tire iron, she couldn't find the jack. So now she was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire, soaking wet, by herself in the dark, and just about scared out of her mind.

I reassured her that she was going to be okay, got her location, and told her I’d be right there. A few minutes later, I spotted her hazard lights flashing in the distance and pulled my truck up behind her. As she climbed into the passenger seat, she leaned over and gave me a massive hug.

“Oh my gosh, Uncle Scott,” she gushed. “Thank you so much for saving me. You’re my hero.”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for,” I smiled, looking her over. The poor girl was absolutely drenched. I reached into the back seat and grabbed a blanket that I keep in the truck for emergencies. Passing it to her, I continued. “Now, I think the best plan is to swing by my place. I have lanterns you can use, and then we'll get you home to dry off. Tomorrow, when the rain lets up, I’ll pick you up and change your tire for you. Does that sound fair?”

“I mean, I guess,” she said hesitantly, a look of concern on her face. "But I really don't want to return to a dark house without power. "Do you think I could just stay over at your place tonight instead, so I’m not stuck sitting by myself in the dark? We could even watch a movie or something. Please?”

Something about the way April said, 'Please,' just filled me with warmth and melted my heart. I’ve watched this kid grow up from nothing. There was no way I could just drop her off in a house with no power and let her sit there suffering. I gave her my most reassuring smile and nodded.

“Sure, that’s fine with me,” I replied. “You can sleep on the sofa in my office, just like the old days. You might be a little too old to build a blanket fort over top of it, but if you feel the urge, I’m game.”

April let out a laugh and leaned in for another hug. “Thanks, Uncle Scott.”

On the way back to my place, April and I chatted and bantered, laughing at each other’s jokes and filling one another in on the latest happenings in our lives. We hadn’t spent a lot of one-on-one time together lately, so we were both really enjoying the opportunity to catch up. Several times during our drive, I glanced over and noticed her giving me a peculiar expression. It was kind of a half-smile, half-thoughtful sort of smirk, one I’d never seen from her before. I shook it off, and in no time we were pulling up into my driveway.

“Okay,” I said, as we walked through the doorway into my living room. “You know your way around. You can go dry off in my room. I’ve got t-shirts and shorts in my second and third dresser drawers. I’m sure you can find something to wear until your clothes are out of the dryer. While you're doing that, I'll light the fireplace and find a movie to watch. Do you want me to grab you anything from the kitchen?”

“Hmmm,” she began, giving me a mischievous grin. “Do you think I could maybe have one of your beers?”

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Excuse me?” I laughed. “Your dad might be a pushover who lets you swipe his beers whenever you want, but I’m on your mom’s side on this issue.”

April gave me another little smirk as she curled her lip up into a little pout. “Oh, come on, Uncle Scott. Please?”

Once again, that sense of warmth flowed through my body as I looked at the girl. Would it really hurt to let her have one? Scotty would always share his with her. Sighing, I rolled my eyes again.

“Fine, but only because you’ve had a rough night, and I know your dad lets you have his sometimes. Just don’t tell your mom that I’m letting you push me around.”

April cheered and gave me another hug before darting off to my room to change. I grabbed us each a beer from the fridge, then headed back into the living room to get the fireplace and television going. In short order, the warmth of the fireplace was radiating into the room as I settled down on the sofa, turned on the TV, and cued up a nature documentary that looked half decent.

A minute or so later, I was watching the fire when I heard the click of my bedroom door opening, followed by the living room floor squeaking as April carried herself across the room. As soon as she stepped into eyesight, my jaw nearly hit the floor.

April had managed to find one of my biggest, oldest, most stretched-out white undershirts in my drawer. The shirt's neckline stretched so much that it partially exposed her breasts. The parts that weren’t out in the open may as well have been, as the shirt was so old and thin that her curves and prominent nipples were clearly visible. The shirt was long enough that her thighs were mostly covered, but it was pretty obvious that she decided against wearing one of my pairs of shorts.

“Jesus, April!” I exclaimed, locking my eyes on hers and desperately trying not to glance down at her body. “You’ve gotta cover up a little better than that.”

April did her little smirk-pout again, glancing down at her body briefly before her eyes returned to mine. “Oh, come on. This is super comfy, Uncle Scott. Can I just wear this? Please?”

I don't know what's going on with that girl tonight, but once again, I couldn't bring myself to say no to her. She’s probably right, I figured. That does look comfortable. Plus, she’s known me all her life. Sure, if I were some stranger, this would be totally inappropriate. But it’s not like I’m going to try and make a move on her or anything. She’s my best friend’s daughter, and I love her like she was my own kid.

“Okay, whatever,” I sighed. “Just be careful how you sit. The only show I want to see tonight is the one on TV, alright?”

April smiled, then sat down on the sofa next to me. As she did, she muttered something I couldn’t quite make out. It sounded kind of like, “We’ll see,” but that couldn’t be right. I handed the girl her beer and hit play on the documentary.

For the next twenty minutes or so, we sat there, drinking our beers and occasionally chatting about a scene in the film. It wasn't the most exciting movie choice, but when April turned sixteen, she became interested in documentaries, which led me to start watching them myself and eventually develop a liking for them.

Not long after we finished our beers, I felt April snuggle up against me on the sofa. This wasn’t really surprising. She’d gotten into the habit of snuggling with me during movies several years ago. Out of habit, I raised up my arm and wrapped it around her as she let out a joyful little sigh.

"Hey, Uncle Scott," she said a few minutes later, her head still resting on my chest. “This is a nice documentary and all, but would it be alright if I picked something else?”

“I suppose,” I said, handing her the remote, being careful not to look down out of concern that I’d see one of her breasts hanging out of the shirt’s loose opening.

Taking the remote, she pointed it at the TV and went to the navigation screen for the subscription service. She flicked past the comedies and kids movies, past the action movies, and past the documentaries before going into the section for romance. I tried not to sigh. Of course she’d want to watch some sappy love story.

Much to my shock, however, the movie she picked wasn’t some little love story I’d never heard of. Instead, it was a movie I’d definitely heard about. For what felt like the twentieth time of the night, my eyes went wide as she clicked the button and the movie came up.

“Um, April, sweetie? Are you sure that's the movie you want to watch?" My concern was evident in my voice as April tossed the remote onto the coffee table.

“Definitely. What’s wrong?”

“Well, I’m not saying you can’t like it, but don’t you think it’s a little inappropriate for the two of us to be watching this? I mean, the critics said it’s basically a porno that’s barely disguised as a romance film.”

“Well,” April replied, “I like it. Can we just enjoy watching it for a while, Uncle Scott? Please?”

I let out a defeated sigh. Something about the way April said 'please' seemed to reach right into my soul, begging me to give in. I mean, it’s fine. I can control myself. She’s old enough to watch whatever she wants.

"Okay, I guess," I conceded as she wiggled against me, resting her hand on my outer thigh. I did my best to ignore it and trained my eyes on the screen.

About ten minutes into the film, I was feeling a little better about things. To be fair, I’ve watched a lot of porn in my life, and this movie had more plot in the first few minutes than any adult movie I’d ever seen. Of course, it featured nearly as much sex as any adult movie I've ever seen. The main character and his wife. The wife and her secret boyfriend. The wife and her best friend. As I watched all these characters repeatedly fuck each other, I felt my own cock begin to come alive. It certainly didn't help that a pretty young girl was cuddling against me, her hand resting on my thigh.

Just then, April spoke up. “Uncle Scott,” she began softly, “could I ask you a question?”

“Shoot,” I replied, realizing fairly quickly I was beginning to pitch a tent in my gym shorts and desperately hoping she hadn’t noticed.

“Why didn’t you get remarried? You know, after your wife died?”

Wow. Going for the deep stuff right out of the gate tonight.

“I don’t know,” I answered, pausing for a second. "I suppose you came along soon after that, and I decided being there for you was more important than chasing girls."

“But Uncle Scott,” she began, her voice taking on a definitively sultry tone. “You’re so handsome and strong. You could make a girl so happy.”

My eyes immediately shot down to my lap, where the hand that had been resting on my thigh began moving. Slowly and seductively, April ran her fingers up and down my leg. With every stroke, she moved a little further inward, coming closer and closer toward the bulge in my shorts, which she was openly staring at. My breathing caught in my throat as I tried to process what was happening.

“Wha—What are you doing?” I finally croaked, my breathing ragged as I sat there in shock. “You can’t,” I tried to protest as her fingers barely brushed up against my erection for the first time.

“Shhh,” she responded. “It’s okay. Just let me have some fun, Uncle Scott. Please?”

There was that ‘please’ again, just turning me to putty on the inside. Part of me wanted to stand up, to push her off me, to remind her that I’m such a close family friend that she refers to me as her uncle.

As quickly as that part of me rose up, though, it fell silent. All I could do was stare at the fingers that were starting to move up and down the bulge in my shorts while my brain rationalized the situation. She’s a grown woman, I thought to myself as she ran her hand up and down my shaft. The film was probably turning her on as much as it was me. This is okay. She’s just touching me over my clothes. There’s no harm in...