CHAPTER 6
Cash
I’m surprised I don’t get pulled over on the drive home. I was in such a rush to get home and see how Mary and Mikey were getting along.
I step through the front door.
“Anybody home?”
A few seconds later Mary come around the corner.
“Hey! Hello there.”
“How are my M&M’s,” I ask.
“M&M’s? Oh,” she says before giggling when she gets my joke. Wow has she ever got a nice smile. She looks even more beautiful when she’s happy and that’s an incredible thing to ponder because I didn’t think she could look more beautiful than she already does. I want to capture that smile on film one day and put the picture on my desk so I can look at it if I ever need uplifting.
“We’re good. Mikey’s sleeping again.”
“That’s good. All the sleeping he does he’s going to be tall one of these days. All he does is sleep and eat.”
“My roommate in college was like that,” she says.
I can’t wait any longer. Part of being a good portfolio manager is asking the right questions and I sure have questions for her. They’ve been on my mind all day. I just don’t want to be too obvious about asking them.
“How was college? Did you enjoy it?”
“Yeah, it was good actually. I had a job offer lined up and was just about to start but then the company went belly up and now here I am.”
“Well their loss is my gain. Our gain. Mikey and Carrie and I that is.”
Pull yourself together, Cash.
“Thank you. I’m quickly seeing that it was to my benefit as well. You have a lovely home and I had a really nice time with Carrie.”
“You mean my wife?” I say before winking at her.
“Um…yeah. My bad.”
“It’s okay. We got a good laugh out of it. She called me to tell me everything went okay and she’d left you here alone with Mikey. That and of course that you thought we were married. I thought we looked too much alike to be mistaken for husband and wife.”
“I see it now. I guess at the time I was just thinking…or I wasn’t thinking straight or something.”
“I know the feeling. Speaking of married, are you married by chance?”
Smooth transition, Cash. Don’t be so obvious.
“Me? No, not yet.”
So she does have a boyfriend.
“I think you have to have a boyfriend before you can get married, right?”
Bingo! That’s the answer I was looking for.
“It used to work that way, yes. These days with all the apps that they have I’m not really sure how the whole dating thing works.”
“I think that’s my problem too. I’m not so sure how it works either, which is why I find myself spending Friday and Saturday nights at home by myself.”
“I don’t believe that,” I say. How in the world aren’t the guys beating a path down to this girl’s front door?
“It’s okay. I’m not in a rush. I’m more of a long term thinker anyways. I don’t have any interest in finding Mr. Right Now. I only want a Mr. Right. Do it once and do it for life.”
It’s clear to see this girl is absolutely perfect for me. She gets along great with my kid and my sister. She’s beautiful. And she seems like a bit of an old soul. I think I’m a bit younger than my age, at least that’s what people tell me except when it comes to electronics, so we balance each other out and meet right in the middle. But this is the kind of middle where there’s absolutely no compromise. Only winning.
“I couldn’t agree more. I’m all about quality whether that comes down to picking an investment or picking a significant other, although you don’t always pick a significant other. Sometimes I think things just seem to fall into place. At least that’s how it seems with some of the best and longest lasting relationships I’ve seen.”
“Like friends to lovers?”
“That sounds like a genre of books.”
She giggles again and it makes me want to scoop her up in my arms and carry her right off into the sunset. “It is actually. Sorry, I’m a big reader.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Reading is where it’s at. Most people don’t read nearly enough, whether for pleasure or for education.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” she says.
“Did you ever read Bambi as a child?”
“Bambi, a Life in the Woods? I read the book more times than I can count and saw the movie.”
“Did you ever see Bambi in real life?”
“There’s a real Bambi?’
I look at my watch and then back up at her. “Sort of. Want to see something beautiful?”
“Always.”
I walk her upstairs and down the hall to the guest bedroom in the corner of the house. It has an incredibly expansive view of greenery and snow peaked mountains for miles and miles.
But we don’t need to look far. I point with my finger towards the edge of the property.
There’s a salt lick there where deer often come at this time. The salt lick provides essential elements such as phosphorus and the biometals like sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, and trace elements which are required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth. It’s the perfect place for the deer to come and enjoy and this room is the perfect place for us to enjoy watching them.
But I’m watching her.
She’s completely amazed by the beauty of the moment and I’m completely amazed by the beauty of her.
I can’t wait for the day when Mikey’s old enough to bring up here so he can watch. And even better would be the three of us watching as a family. Together.
But before I can get that far into my future plans I have to focus on the now.
And the now is the excitement I’m feeling in my chest and the alertness I’m feeling in my mind. I’m completely energized and focused on her. It’s like every cell in my body is ready, ready for what I’ve been thinking about all day.
My weight shifts a bit to one side causing the back of our hands to touch. I gently slide my hand against hers taking her hand in mine.
She squeezes my grip tight and I open up my body more to her and she does the same.
I can only imagine how we look right now. If someone stood in the doorway and took a picture this moment would be perfect enough to sell as a postcard.
But this is no fantasy. This is real. And as much as meeting her has felt fantastic from the first moment I want to turn this into something even greater. Something that can last after Mikey no longer needs a nanny. I want to support her dreams and ambitions. She’s a smart young woman with a track record of excellent academic achievement. Now I want us to achieve greatness together.
And our next achievement will be the feeling of each other’s lips.
I move in closer feeling her knee against mine as my leg slides in-between hers.
Her knee is shaking just a bit, and if I’m honest with myself I’m tightening up my stomach so my muscles don’t quiver as well. I never thought anyone would make me feel this way. I do business with the most famous people in the world…the top politicians…and I meet all types here in Colorado. Different types of people from all over the world come to see me.
But that’s it right there. I could search the world high and low and I’d only ever find one of her, and she’s right here, right now.
I lean in and feel her face get a couple inches closer. She’s come up on her tiptoes.
My hand comes up, cupping her face as I look into those beautiful eyes of hers.
I brush her cheek with my thumb and then run my hand along the side of her face, pushing her hair back behind her ear exposing the beauty of her entire face for me. That soft, perfect skin. That glow that she radiates.
As our faces grow closer I can feel the heat from her skin and her breath. I feel hot too. I know my skin must be reddening as my veins pump blood throughout my body. I can feel it. My heart’s about to beat right out of my chest.
Now just inches apart I wait, realizing this will be the last first kiss for both of us. This is it. I want to remember this moment forever.
I lean in the last little way.
“Waah! Waah! Waah!”
Suddenly her face is gone. She’s dropped down off her tiptoes and turned her head to the side. I smile. She laughs.
“You’re off the clock so I guess that’s mine,” I say.
“Is a nanny ever off the clock? I’ll take a look at him.”
I watch as she turns and walks to the door. Her hips sway from side to side and her hair bounces up and down and to and fro.
I turn back around and look at the deer again.
One deer has nuzzled its head in next to another deer. They both stop licking the salt and decide to lick each other. They must have gotten some on their faces in their hurry to get in some licks.
I smile. The deer got a kiss, but I didn’t. It’s like they’re rubbing it in my face.
But our kiss will come. I know it will.
But hopefully it comes soon, because it’s going to be the only thing on my mind until it does.