“How’s the single hot dad?” Corrine, one of my roommates asked as I closed and locked the door behind me.
“Still hot and single,” I said.
“I don’t know why you don’t jump him,” said Allison, my other roommate. She was sitting on the couch painting her toenails a bright pink.
“Because I don’t want the embarrassment that would come with him rejecting me.” I sat on the couch next to Allison and looked over at Corrine, who was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table doing some sort of formulas for her stats final.
“I doubt that would happen. You’re pretty with a good body.” Allison set her nail polish in the table.
“Remember, he used to sleep with Veronica Tisdale. There’s no way I compare to her.”
“He’s a man. I’m not sure they’re that picky,” Corrine said.
“Gee thanks,” I said with a laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
“I’d still jump him. I bet he’s good in bed.” Allison waved her hands over her toes to help dry the polish.
“He doesn’t seem to get out much.” Corrine put her pencil down. “Does he?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I only babysit when he’s working. I’ve never seen him on a date. I think he’s too focused on raising Maisie.”
“He probably gets his jollies off with a woman at the gym,” Allison said.
I frowned. “You think?”
“He has to sometime, doesn’t he? Don’t men’s balls shrivel up or something if they don’t blow their load every now and then?”
I knew Allison was kidding, but I still said, “You’ve been letting Keith manipulate you into bed again, haven’t you?”
She gave me a coy smile. “Maybe. He’s good at it.”
“Manipulating or in bed?” Corrine asked.
“Both.” Allison waggled her eyebrows.
That night in bed, I thought about what Dylan might do if I came on to him. He was nice to me, but that didn’t mean he thought I was attractive. He’d probably act flattered, but inside be horrified. He was a man who’d had lots of sex with Veronica Tisdale, one of the most beautiful women in the world. I could imagine all the ways they’d had sex. With me, he’d have someone who had no clue what they were doing. Sure, there was an idea that men liked virgins, but I wasn’t sure that was true. Men liked creativity in bed more, I was sure, and that I didn’t have.
With a sigh, I rolled over and went to sleep. At least I could have him in my dreams.
2
Dylan
I watched as Tessa disappeared into the house next door. I was troubled by the idea that I might lose her as a babysitter for Maisie. It was going to happen someday, but I thought I had at least one more year of her help. The thought of having to find another suitable person to help me was only just one part of it. The truth was, I liked being around Tessa. On nights like tonight, when she stayed and ate dinner with us, I felt like I was giving Maisie a real family experience. Granted, Tessa wasn’t Maisie’s mother or my wife, but she fit with us somehow. Since I didn’t plan to ever marry again, nights like tonight were the only times Maisie would have something like that.
Tessa was smart, positive, and nurturing to Maisie, which I knew Maisie needed from a woman. Since her mother was off living her best life, Tessa was the next best thing to a mother figure, and she did it well. The only problem with Tessa was all the things I appreciated about her. Because she was so perfect as a person, wrapped up in a beautiful face and sexy body, it was sometimes annoying to have to deal with my libido around her. Tessa had that sexy girl-next-door look with her golden-red hair, green eyes, and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She looked sweet and innocent, which made my attraction to her all the more disturbing. Adding the fact that she was only twenty-three so, I felt like a dirty old man. Granted, I wasn’t that much older than her in years, but in life experiences, I was ancient. A woman like her would become a successful teacher, find a nice man to marry, have a few kids, and live a happy life. She would have all the things I couldn’t give her.
As for me, until Maisie, I didn’t really know what happiness was. I thought I had it with her mother, Veronica, but as it turned out, Maisie and I weren’t enough for her. It didn’t take a shrink to tell me that marrying Veronica and having a child by twenty-two was an attempt to create the family I hadn’t had while growing up. My mother did the best she could, but as it turned out, her best was subpar. She struggled financially, and always sought out a man fix her money woes and unhappiness. As a result, I had a string of stepfathers who at best ignored me and at the worst, used their fists on me.
I shook my head of my own dysfunctional childhood. I wasn’t able to give Maisie the ideal family situation, but she was safe and happy and loved.
“Come on Miss Maisie, time for a bath.” I shut the front door and scooped Maisie up.
“Can I have bubbles?”
“Two bubbles,” I said, walking toward her bathroom.