Chapter Four
Nick
As I turn to walk to the bathroom, something catches my eye. I glance back to the window and peer outside. I frown because I could've sworn that there was a curtain on that window less than five minutes ago. I stand there for a moment, suddenly feeling nervous. It's Anna's room. I'm sure of it. Could she have been watching me? I glance down at my naked form and cringe.
What was I thinking parading around in front of an open window like this?
That’s the problem. I wasn’t thinking. Whenever I walk into my room and see that stupid lace netting, I found myself thinking that nobody could see in. But with the bedroom light on, everything could be seen from the outside. Anyone could stand there and watch me.
Including Anna.
Why would she want to, though? That’s the bit I don’t understand. The thought of her watching me like that and seeing me naked makes me think things I probably shouldn't be thinking. It's not her age that bothers me because, at thirty-seven, I'm really not that much older than her. It's the fact that I'm such good friends with her father, Dan, that makes her off limits.
Dan and I met when I first moved here with my wife, Marley, about seven years ago. He’s only a few years older than me, and we had so much in common that friendship seemed inevitable. Over the years, we became really close. Our friendship fizzled after my kids were born, and our interests changed. My focus became my kids while his focus was still having fun. Anna was a teenager by then, who was used to looking after herself. It was only in the last six months or so that Dan and I had begun to reconnect our friendship.
I sit down on the bed, still naked, and still glancing over at the window. I haven't seen anything else to suggest that she's watching me, so I start to think that maybe I'm reading too much into this. Anything could've happened to that curtain. A loose hook, or maybe a rash decision to redecorate just happened to coincide with—I stop and let out a chuckle. Hell, even I can't convince myself of that.
Wandering into the bathroom, I step into the shower and let out a long sigh. It’s been a hell of a day, and it feels good to just relax. Or at least, try to relax, because as much as I want to let the tension go, it doesn’t seem to want to let up on me.
I soap myself up, running my hands over my body. When I reach my cock, I slide my fist along my shaft and grunt. I’m hard as fuck. I wasn’t intending to jerk off in the shower, but thinking about Anna watching me has gotten me quite worked up. Did she like what she saw? Did she touch herself while thinking about what it would feel like to ride my dick?
No, if she’d heard the rumors, she’d be thinking the opposite.
Resting my hand against the shower wall, I pump my fist, hard and fast until I find my release. It doesn’t take long. All I had to do was picture Anna on her knees in front of me, and I was gone. I know I’m going to regret picturing her later, but right now, all I want to do is clear my head, so I can sleep.
I step out onto the bathmat and frown, the pang of guilt hitting me. Well, that happened faster than I was expecting. I shouldn’t have been thinking about her like that, and it definitely can’t happen again.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I walk back into my room.
The first thing I notice is the curtain is back up, and her light is now on. Well, that answers that question. Any doubt I had was gone. She was definitely watching me. The question is, what am I going to do about it?
Ignore it and pretend it never happened.
That would be the logical course of action. There is no benefit in pointing out the obvious and embarrassing the poor girl, but I wasn’t sure that I could resist. The smart-ass in me lives for moments like this. Maybe I should invite her over to play with my big model again. Wait, was that why she was so weird when I said that because she’d been watching me? I chuckle. I’m slowly warming up to the idea of hot, young Anna checking me out.
Groaning, I roll over, not liking where my mind is taking this. One second I love the idea, and the next, it’s creepy. She's not the little girl next door anymore. She's a mature, attractive, twenty-something college student. The last thing I need is a complication that would come with thinking about her in any other way than my neighbor, or my best friend’s daughter. Of course, I probably should’ve thought about that before jacking off to her in the shower.
Just as I’m about to drive off, I glance over and see Anna hunched over her car. She stands back from the raised bonnet and hurls a kicking assault on the front bumper, a frustrated look on her face.
“Hold on for a second,” I tell my kids.
I jump out and wander over to the fence, doing my best to act casual as I scale it. I want to help her out, but I also want to gauge how she reacts to me being there. If she was watching me, this exchange is going to be awkward and strained.
God, she’s so nice to look at. I glance at her short black skirt as it gently flaps in the wind and barely covers her creamy white thighs that I can’t drag my eyes away from. Her long, toned legs seem to go on forever, and when she stretches out over the engine to reach a rag, I have to turn away. When I get my erection under control, I turn back and flush when I see her frowning at me. The only thing awkward and strange about this situation is me.
“Hey. Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Sure, if you count a flat battery as okay,” she snaps. She half commits to eye contact as she winces. “Sorry. I’m crabby because I’m running late for an exam I probably should’ve studied harder for in the first place.”
“Studied harder for?” I chuckle. “Is that even possible with you?”
“You sound just like my dad,” she accuses.
“Which is probably where I heard that from.” I grin. “Need a lift?”
She shakes her head with a little too much enthusiasm, color creeping across her cheeks. She still hasn’t met my eyes, and I’m starting to wonder if she’s going to go the whole conversation without even looking at me.
“Thanks for the offer, but it’s okay. I can get a friend to pick me up on their way past.”
“Your call.” I shrug as if it makes no difference to me. Inside, I’m a little disappointed at the missed opportunity to spend more time with her. “Hey, if you ever have a few spare minutes, come past my office, and I’ll show you that project. You’ll love it. I promise.”
“I might do that,” she says with a hesitant smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I say. “It’s kind of nice to see someone with such a passion for architecture. People look at me funny when I get excited over a sharp pencil and a precision edged rule.” I shrug. “Some guys watch porn. I watch Grand Designs.”
She laughs loudly. “Whatever works for you, I guess,” she teases. She nods back at my car. “I guess you better get them to the school before they escape.”
I turn around and see Max hanging out of one side window and hear Milly yelling to me from out of the other side.
“Right. I’ll see you around,” I say, heading back to my car.
So much for my new technique. I hope my flirting skills are better than my parenting.
She thinks you whack yourself off to Grand Designs. Yep. Things aren’t looking good.
I drop the kids off at school and then head straight into work. Shirley is off for the day, which is good because I don't think I'm going to get too much done today. The last thing I needed was her input as to why my head isn’t in it.
I'm struggling to focus when Dan walks in. I look up and frown, trying to think up an excuse to get rid of him. Any other day I'd be happy to catch up with my friend, but I'm embarrassed about what I'm feeling toward his daughter. I feel so sneaky even speaking to her, even though nothing has happened apart from a few misconstrued comments. Unless you count the fact that she’s seen my cock. And I’ve jacked off to her in the shower. See? Nothing.
“Hey,” he says, throwing himself down on the couch in the waiting room outside my office. He rubs his head and sighs. “Got any whiskey in there? I need a drink.”
I grab a bottle of scotch off my shelf and wander in to join him. He grins as I hand him the bottle, twisting the cap off to take a mouthful.
“Help yourself.” I grin. “Shouldn't you be at work, or something?”
“Or something,” he nods. “I had a client book me for the whole day, and then they cancelled at the last second. All good, because they paid in advance. So, I thought I’d come and annoy you.”
“Thanks, but I'm really overloaded here,” I mumble, trying to sound distracted.
“You sure everything is okay?” Dan sits forward and looks at me, concerned. “You seem kind of distant.”
“I'm fine,” I assure him. “I just have more work than I can handle and two kids who insist on pushing my buttons. Add to that my house is a mess, and things are fucking awesome.”
None of those things were really that true—except maybe for my house being a mess, but I thought of a way to get rid of him, and I’m committing to it. The only way I can think of to have him leave me alone is to pretend that I don’t have time to even breathe.
“Well, if you’re that busy, maybe you need someone to help you out?” Dan suggests.
“Are you offering?” I chuckle. “Because you can’t clean for shit, and I wouldn’t trust you with my kids.”
“Thanks,” he retorts. “No. I mean hire someone to help you. A babysitter or a housekeeper or something. It might even leave you more time for sex, then maybe you’d be less of an asshole. You know, considering all the women you have lined up to ride your ride.”
I groan and sit down while Dan laughs.
“You heard,” I say flatly.
“Bit hard not to.” He chuckles. “You’re all anyone is talking about, according to Mandy.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I mumble.
“Hey, you should be flattered. I’d love to have women lining up to fuck me, no strings attached. Hey, maybe you can start a rumor about your friend who’s bigger than you are?”
“Fuck no,” I say dryly. “And I'm sure Mandy will be thrilled to hear that.”
Dan and Amanda have been going out for around six weeks. It was the longest relationship I’d known the guy to have, so there must be something special about her.
“So, can I get back to work now?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
“I'll let you get back to it in a minute.” He waves his hand as though my job is an inconvenience. “But first, I’m going to do you a favor.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” I say, distracted.
“I'm giving you Anna,” he declares.
My eyes widen. That gets my attention. He couldn’t know…could he? But if he did, he wouldn’t…would he?
“What?” I bark, shocked.
“Not permanently,” he growls. “Like, you can't keep her. I want her back, but she’s yours for as long as you need her. Use her as you please and all that.”
I stare at him, my mouth not working. I can't seem to find the right words—or any words at all—to respond to that. Is he suggesting…? God, I have no idea what he’s suggesting. We were talking about all the women that want to fuck me and the next second he’s giving me his daughter? What kind of fucked up—?
“She's great with the kids. She can help you out at home, give you a little more time to yourself. Maybe in return, you can help her with a couple of her classes?”
Ohh. The house. She can help me around the house. That made more sense.
I shake my head. I know I have to say no, but I don't know how to turn down his offer without making him suspicious as to why I’m turning down free help.
“Okay, sure,” I found myself saying. “Why the hell not?”