Loving My Best Friend's Dad

I woke up Ashley when I got back into the house. She groaned and lifted the blanket back over her head telling me she'll be up in 5 minutes. 13 years of friendship taught me better, she wouldn't get up, she'd go back to sleep. I lifted the covers from the end of the bed and ripped them off her.

"Noooooooo!" She yelled dramatically and curled up in a fetal position.

"Up. Up. Up." I told her as I opened her curtains and let the sun shine in. I listened as she groaned some more but got up and grabbed her workout shorts from the night before and put them on. She stood and glared at me. Ashley was not a morning person by any means. If it were up to her she would be like a vampire, up all night and sleeping all day. Sadly, this was the real world and she could not turn herself into a bat if she tried.

While she tried to wake up, I explained how I had met her dad and how he was kind enough to make breakfast, showed me around the pool, and pool house. I didn't mention the hand holding or slightly awkward or confusing comment he said. I also made sure not to mention my attraction to her dad.

When she woke up enough we changed into day clothes and made our way to the garage to get the moving started. Mr. Anderson must have been waiting for us because he was standing next to my Jeep with a dolly. He greeted Ashley good morning to which she just waved. He smiled, amused, knowing his daughter would rather do anything but this right now.

I opened the trunk and we worked together to load up the dolly with heavy boxes for Mr. Anderson to take upstairs while Ashley and I grabbed the light ones and moved them by hand. It took us a little over an hour to properly get everything into my new room.

"Is that it?" Mr. Anderson asked when I came into the room with another box.

"No, there is one more box. It's light so we won't need the dolly again." I answered, placing the box next to the pile we made.

"I'll grab the last box." Ashley offered and got up before I could say no and get it myself. She left the room and now Mr. Anderson and I were alone again. I looked at him and wondered if it would be a little weird again. It's only been a few hours since we've met again and if it was going to be weird like this all the time, I'm not sure I'd be able to live here for long.

I simply smiled at him and went into the closet to start sorting through boxes and figuring out where I wanted to put stuff. I felt his presence behind me as I bent over to grab a box full of clothes to hang up. I turned around and caught him looking up quickly. Okay, was he looking at my butt or the ground? I glanced at the floor and back him with a raised eye brow, questioning what he had been looking at before I caught him.

"Erin, I wanted to say I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier. Or if I said anything to make you uncomfortable." He apologized. I wanted to laugh a bit because it's usually what I did in situations where I felt weird and didn't know what to do or say. Plus, it felt like there was more he wanted to say to me but wasn't. He appeared genuine with his apology but conflicted at the same time. Am I missing something?

"It's okay, Mr. Anderson. It's probably just weird because we don't know each other and I am now living under your roof. Maybe in time we will be more comfortable with each other?" I shrugged, this was new to me as well. This whole situation was new to all of us and it was going to take a little time to adjust to the change. I didn't want to say he made me uncomfortable, he just made me wonder about the constant draw I felt towards him. His shirt was still off and he was sweating a bit from the move. I felt the urge to touch him but instead I turned away to distract myself and went back to the box of clothes I had opened. I was grateful I had left the hangers attached to them since there were none in the closet. I grabbed a handful and lifted them out.

"Maybe I can help you with those." I suddenly felt his hand over mine holding the hangers, his chest almost touching my upper back. He was so close to me I could smell whatever he used as deodorant and sweat mixed together. He lifted the hangers from my hand gently, moving slightly so his body brushed against my side, placing the hangers on a rack. I turned my head to look up at him and thank him but he was already looking down at me. I felt like he was searching for some reaction. Was I giving him the right one? The one that said, do something! I wanted some sort of sure sign I wasn't losing my mind right now and that these signs, were truly signs of interest and that I wasn't alone. I did not have experience with older men. Boys are so clumsy, they would never do something like this.

"I got the last box!" Ashley popped into the closet, causing Mr. Anderson and I to step further apart. If Ashley noticed we were too close, she didn't say anything. She began to talk excitedly about living together, while looking around at the boxes, "I think that's it. All the boxes are now here. Now we just need to make the room fit your taste and everything will be perfect! I am so happy you agreed to stay here!"

"Speaking of that, you girls should go shopping for paint and decorations. It's all on me." Mr. Anderson insisted. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, "Here is my card, get what you need or want to make yourself feel at home. It is important to me that you feel comfortable here."

"Are you sure?" I questioned. I looked at the card in his hand, not really wanting to take it or feel I may be overstepping by spending his money.

"He is very sure!" Ashley answered for him by grabbing the card out of his hand. "We're going shopping, Erin. Time to have some fun! Let's get changed and go."

Ashley ran out of the room to get changed, Mr. Anderson following her yelling that there is a limit on the card and not to overspend it. It must be something he had to remind her of often because she repeated that she knew and would be careful. I sighed and grabbed clean clothes from a nearby box and changed.

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Ashley drove us around for a few hours. She took me to many places I never heard of and helped me pick out decorations, curtains for the canopy bed, purple bedding, school supplies, and purple paint for my new room. I couldn't wait to get home and go crazy with the stuff.

We decided to stop and grab a late lunch at a small restaurant in the area. After settling in a booth and making our orders, we caught up some more and updated each other on anything new. I decided this might be a time to bring up her dad and ask some questions.

"Your dad seems really nice." I started, racking my brain on ways to go about asking without being obvious.

"Yeah, he is a very down to earth guy even with all the success he has had. He works a lot though, I think he only takes time off work during the summer when I'm around. Not sure what he is going to do now that we're both living there." Ashley told me. Alright, so I just learned he works a lot.

"So he's a workaholic then?" I asked.

"I really don't know. He works normal office hours during the summer. I guess we will find out when summer ends and school starts what his usual schedule is." She answered. Our appetizers had arrived and she dived in.

"I have to admit I was surprised by the size of the house. I could not imagine living there by myself most of the year. It must get lonely." I was trying to find a clever way of seeing if he was single. This might not be the best question but I could not think of anything that didn't give away exactly what I was asking. Geez this was harder than I thought.

"If he does, he doesn't show it. I've always imagined him spending most of the time in his office. That's the room across from his bedroom. Just a huge office filled with paperwork, books, and a desk. I never go in there because it's such a pig sty. He calls it organized chaos." She laughed.

"Really? The rest of the house appears organized." I imagined the house in my mind and nothing appeared as chaos.

"Oh, he has someone from a cleaning company come in about once a week to do basic cleaning. They keep the place nice and organized. If he were left alone things would be in random places. You wouldn't know where to find something but ask him and he knows the exact spot he left it. He is something else." She responded.

"So, he has not had anyone else since your mom? No one to keep him company or organized?" I questioned, trying to sound more concerned than interested.

"Not that I know of, he has never brought a woman around or introduced me to anyone. Maybe he is gay?" She joked but then shook her head, "I doubt that, he doesn't seem gay at all. It is possible he hasn't found the right person? I can't imagine him still being stuck on mom after all these years, she moved on years ago."

Our food arrived and we began to eat. I thought about what she said. Her mom did move on a few years ago when she got remarried. There was no sign that a woman had ever lived in his home. It had a pretty bachelor feeling to it and not a lot of personality. A woman would have brought a lot of personality into the home and made it more homey feeling. Ashley's room had a lot more personality than the rest of the house. The living room was the only place that appeared livable with the big TV, video games, surround sound, and comfortable couches. I have not seen Mr. Anderson's office or bedroom, Ashley pointed out the doors when giving a tour but given it is a personal space did not show them to me.

We got home later after eating and doing a little extra shopping for clothes. Ashley found a swim suit or bikini as she called it, for me to wear. She stated that she was going to take me to my very first beach and I was going to look "hot". I felt exposed wearing it and wondered if I appeared fat. Like any best friend out there, she assured me a million times that I looked amazing and not to worry. I ended up letting her buy it for me. She wasn't willing to leave the store until we found something for me to wear for our beach outing.

Mr. Anderson was lounging on the couch and playing a video game in the living room when we arrived home. He paused it when we walked into the room and asked how our shopping went. Ashley gave him the low down of everything we bought for the room and explained that we would start painting tomorrow. He told us there was stuff for painting in the garage and to let him know if we needed help.

We ran upstairs to drop the stuff we bought in my closet when Ashley surprised me with a suggestion of something to do. "Why don't we go swimming? This way you can grow a little more comfortable in your new bikini and we can both relax after shopping all day."

I really didn't have any reason why we couldn't or shouldn't go swimming, even though I didn't want to. I reluctantly agreed. Ashley jumped up and ran to her room to change leaving me alone to change. I quickly changed and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror at myself. It was a simple bikini, purple triangular halter top with ties and black bottom with ties on the side. I liked that it was adjustable and that my boobs didn't look as small as they typically did. As I looked, I told myself that Ashley was right, it did look good. I knocked on Ashley's door before walking in to find her in a bikini very similar too mine, only the top was pink. It was one of those times I had wished the boob fairy gave me an extra tap because she filled the bikini more.

"You look amazing! So cute! Guys will be all over you when they see you in this." Ashley gushed.

"Not as amazing as you look. You'll have more guys than me. Maybe even a few numbers." I told her. She rolled her eyes at me, never believing me even though I knew she would.

When we got outside, Mr. Anderson was raking leaves out of the pool with a skimmer. He didn't seem to notice us at first until Ashley asked if he had warmed the water. He answered with a yes before looking up and directly at me. The corners of his lips seem to perk up and his eyes focused in on me. I pretended not to notice and made my way around the pool, I felt his gaze with every move I made. I walked down the steps of the shallow end and slowly made my way into the warm water before diving under. I flipped over so I could see thought the surface if he was still watching. He was. I broke through the surface when I reached the deep end. I turned to look at him only to find him gone. I suddenly felt alone before hearing a splash behind me. I spun around in time to see Ashley grab my ankle under water and pull me down. We swam and played in the water for almost two hours.

"We should probably turn in. It's almost 9. This day really went by fast." Ashley grabbed the ladder rails and started to climb out. "I'll go up and take a shower. I'll come down when I'm done and you can take one. Sound good?"

"Sounds good." I dived under water and started swimming laps. Even though I didn't want to come out swimming to begin with, I didn't want to get out now. Mr. Anderson must have gone in after cleaning the pool because I never saw him since.

I started to get worried after a half hour had passed and Ashley hadn't come down yet. I grabbed my cell phone that sat on the edge of the pool and texted her. I went back to swimming while waiting. I noticed a figure standing outside of the pool and swam up expecting my best friend to be standing there. It wasn't, it was her dad.

"Ashley fell asleep on her bed. I figured maybe you should know since you were waiting for her to come back." He informed me.

"Really?" I asked shocked. I have mentioned before that Ashley is a night owl. We must have had an eventful day if she fell asleep.

"I am just as surprised as you are." He said, moving to sit on the side of the pool. I only had just noticed he had on swim trunks when he placed his feet in the water. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." I shook my head and swam backwards to give him room. Since we were in between the shallow and deep end which was around 5 feet, he slipped into the water from the edge and stood in place. I felt a bit jealous since I was having to stand on my tip toes to stay in one place.

"I see you went out and got something to swim in." He indicated to my new bikini as he started to slowly move around in the pool.

"Yeah, you can thank your daughter for nearly forcing it on me." I joked a little.

"I just might." I barely heard him whisper under his breath before ducking under water and swimming towards me.

I looked down at myself, there was not much to see or enjoy. This was how I felt about myself and assumed guys did too. Small breasts were not much to get excited over. I quickly readjusted my top to push what I had up and look bigger. Well...they looked bigger to me. I dropped my arms when I heard him break the surface about a foot in front of me. I smiled a little at the sight of his hair slicked back and water dripping from his face. I wanted to reach out and touch his face and feel his stubbly beard under my hand but refrained from doing so. I reminded myself for the millionth time that he was my best friend's dad. It didn't seem to do a good job since I kept wanting to be near him. I moved toward him without even thinking of it and shortening the small distance between us.

"What did you say?" I asked him. I lightly bit my lip, feeling nervous about my question. Would he repeat what he said or change his answer.

"I said, I just might. As in, thank her for taking you to get everything you needed. I can report to your mom that you are settling in." He answered with a straight face.

My heart felt like it dropped because it was not the answer I was expecting, not even close. Granted, I really didn't know what I expected but it wasn't that. Here I go feeling super confused again.

"Speaking of mom, I should go call her." I said quietly before turning and moving as fast as I could to exit the pool. I quickly grabbed a towel and ran upstairs.

I stood in the shower washing the chlorine from my hair and skin, mentally kicking my ass for being so stupid. He is a man. An older man. An older man who is my best friend, Ashley's, dad. A man with no interest in a young girl. A young girl who is his daughters best friend. Hell, I could be his kid too. Ashley and I were both 19 years old. I didn't even know how old he was. That's it. I am done. Done feeling weird around him. I am going to focus on starting school and beginning the life of a college student.

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A week had passed since I first arrived, Ashley and I got my room painted purple and decorated it to perfection. My bed almost matched hers with plushy blankets, pillows, and black fishnet style curtains hanging from the canopy. We managed to find a store with holiday stuff already out and bought string lights to hang around the border of the room. It looked amazing. We put together a bookshelf which took a lot longer than it should have and it now stood next to my desk. It was loaded with new school books that we picked up, candles, and pictures. Ashley surprised me with a Lovesac bean bag after I told her I wanted one. It now sat at the end of my bed, in front of the entertainment center. I was really enjoying my new room.

Ashley and I spent a lot of time exploring the city and our new school, we went to Santa Monica beach, it was crowded but fun. We tanned, played in the water, and explored the pier. As predicted, Ashley received a lot of attention and even had some brave guys try to talk to her. One eventually caught her eye, his name was Cole and he introduced us to his friend Zachary. They treated us to lunch and showed us around the pier. Ever since then Ashley and Cole have been texting non-stop. Zachary and I tagged along as the third and fourth wheel whenever we went out. I could see Ashley's attraction to Cole, he was tall, tanned, and muscular with short dirty blond hair. He made me think of a beach bum, always in shorts and a muscle shirt. He was very outgoing and like Ashley, liked to be the center of attention. Zachary was more quiet and easy going, he was of average height, had a 6 pack but didn't wear anything to make himself appear muscular, he had dark short hair that he kept neat and always appeared clean in whatever he wore. I tried to figure out how they were friends because they seemed to be complete opposites but nothing ever seemed to get between them and they balanced each other.

After spending almost every day with them, Ashley invited them over for swimming and pizza. I worried about her dad being home when they came over but ever since the pool incident, he seemed to have disappeared. He went to work early and came home late. The only time I saw him was when he drove his car out of the gate.

"Dad won't be home until past midnight. I know he doesn't want us having guys over and all that but he won't know. Besides, it's just swimming and pizza." Ashley told me when I expressed my worries. Her dad stated when I moved in that he would prefer we didn't have guests over even though we were adults. She continued by adding, "What he doesn't know, won't hurt him, right?"

"You know saying that does not make it any better." I shook my head at her and sighed. I just had a bad feeling about tonight. I hated these feelings, last time I had this feeling Ashley got drunk at a house party after swearing there was no alcohol in the punch. Her mom just loved having a puking daughter on her porch a few hours later. My car wasn't pleased at the time either.

Cole and Zachary arrived shortly after and we spent the next few hours swimming, playing, and blasting music. Cole and Ashley were getting closer as the night grew darker. Zachary and I decided to leave them outside to make out in private.

"Thanks for having us over. This was fun." Zachary thanked me and sat next to me on the couch.