“This is also nice…” she confesses. “In addition to the thank you, of course.”
“Of course,” I tell her, and then she steps back.
Just as quickly as the moment was upon us, it’s passed us by. Now I’m thinking logically again and I feel stupid and wrong for kissing my brand new employee. She is also backing up a few steps as if she feels the same way.
But it’s not completely doomed. It’s more just as if we both feel a bit awkward.
“Okay, I’m going to leave and head into the office now,” I tell her. “Make yourself at home and help yourself to anything and everything you might need or want while I’m gone.”
“Yes. Sure. Yeah.”
It’s as if she doesn’t know what to say but I do see her wave and smile at me as I leave.
I have a feeling that this little “oops” moment of us “accidentally” kissing isn’t over. Instead, it’s just the start of whatever might come to be between us.
Chapter 6
Catharine
I can’t believe I kissed him, already!
I mean, I had a feeling deep down that we were going to kiss, eventually, but not right away.
What did I do? Why didn’t I do even more? Why didn’t he do more? I wanted him to take my virginity, damn it!
A million thoughts race through my mind as Charlie sleeps. I can’t help but think about all the ‘what ifs.’ I want to call Sally and talk to her about this but I’m afraid that Charlie will wake up and overhear my less-than-kid-appropriate conversation about his dad.
I decide to go into the bathroom and peel off my snow-filled clothes on the tile floor. Making snow angels will really get you messy and cold!
I eye his large, marble tiled shower and wonder if I should get in and warm up.
Why not? I decide. He had said to make myself at home, after all.
First, I grab a blue robe of his that I see hanging on a towel rack and go put my wet clothes in the dryer. Hopefully it won’t take too long for them to dry and I can put them back on when I’m out of the shower, I think.
Then I grab the gold, ornately decorated handle of the shower door and open it so that I can step in. I’ve never been in such a large personal shower – it has two showerheads pointing in the same direction, so that two people can be under the water at the same time.
I start to wonder about Charlie’s mom again. I’m pretty sure Daniel isn’t married, as there’s certainly no sign of a woman around this house, and there has been no mention of her. If she were at all involved in Charlie’s life, I think someone would have talked to me about the custody schedule and also that Daniel probably wouldn’t have offered me a nannying job on the spur of the moment without talking to her about it, first.
Soon the warm shower water has washed all the coldness away from me. I resist the urge to stay in the shower too long. I don’t want Charlie to wake up disoriented, wondering whether I left almost as soon as I had arrived. I hop out and dry myself off, then, wrapping the towel around me so that if Charlie is awake I won’t be showing him too much, I go check on my clothes in the dryer.
Damn.
They’re still not dry.
Returning to the bathroom, I hurry up and throw the robe back and I wrap my towel around my head to dry my hair. I scamper down the hallway to go check on Charlie, pulling the belt part of the robe up to put it around me. But the robe is large for me and the belt is a loose-fitting sash-like one that doesn’t help keep it on me very well so it’s half open. I hold it closed with my hands while I check in on him – he’s still asleep.
So then I start to head to the kitchen to grab some water when suddenly the front door opens.
I turn, wondering who it is and feeling embarrassed.
There was no knock first, so that must mean it’s Daniel, I think. But what if it’s one of his friends or something? Or what if it’s Charlie’s mom?
But as I peer at him I realize it is Daniel. He jumps when he sees me, and I do the same thing.
We both exclaim, “What are you doing…?” at the same time, but I finish by saying “here” and he doesn’t.
“What do you mean what am I doing?” I demand. “I’m watching your kid, like you asked me to do…”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” he says, looking me up and down and apparently liking what he sees because his eyes are bugging out like that cartoon character’s always are.