Babysitter with Benefits

My next door neighbour Henning, father of Ella, my go-to babysitter if I had to run some errands - and, incidentally, since last week, also my mistress - leaned on the fence separating our back yards, friendly grin on his face.

I left the lawnmower to its own devices and strolled over to him; Henning was a genuinely nice guy, and seeing as he wasn't wielding a shotgun while yelling his lungs out at me, he was likely blissfully unaware of what Ella and I had spent an intense hour doing together a few days earlier.

"Listen, bud - I just wanted to thank you for what you did for Ella here the other day," he began as I drew near. I felt like someone had just released half a gallon of liquid nitrogen in my guts; WHAT? I hoped I still seemed rather calm outwardly, because my innards were in instant, violent turmoil.

"I've no idea what you said to her, but when she went over to you guys to say goodnight to Thomas, she was in a rather foul mood - to the extent her mother suggested she leave it until next day, when she hopefully was in a better mood - some quarrel with her on-and-off-boyfriend, from what I gathered - but when she came back? All smiles, happy as can be and a joy to have in the house."

"Oh, that was nothing," I half spoke, half squeaked, still trying to recover as the liquid nitrogen evaporated and released the violent grip on my stomach. "I just told her that being eighteen is a temporary state, and that she'll soon find that she gets all sorts of new and interesting things to worry about as she grows older."

He shook his head, laughing. "Now, ain't that the truth... Well, it worked, at any rate. Speaking of eighteen year olds, would you mind keeping an eye on our house this weekend? The missus and I are going to see her brother in Trondheim, and while Ella is the calm type... You know, suddenly someone crashes the party or whatever and things get out of hand. Are you OK with me telling her she can call you or come over if she needs any help?"

My eagerness to be of service ought to have surprised him, but he didn't bat an eyelid. Of course I'd be happy to help in any way I could, no worries - while the violent, cold pit which had recently been my guts was now filled with butterflies. Henning and Tove were going away for the weekend. Ella would be home alone. With any luck, she'd stay over - at the very least, we'd have several hours to wear each other out by enjoying that most enjoyable of pastimes.

I could get used to the idea.

Returning to the lawnmower, I found it had been -sigh- unable to get the job finished on its own, so I coaxed it back to work and got the job over with while sporting a massive erection daydreaming about what the weekend might have to offer. Someday soon, I had to get myself a robot lawnmower.

Later that afternoon, just as junior and I were about to sit down for dinner - pancakes, at Thomas' most persuasive request - there was a soft knock on the porch door; Ella stood outside, smiling and waving, and Thomas ran, screaming with joy, to the door to let her in. "Come, we're having pancakes! Would you like some, Ella? You want some, don't you! Come! Daddy just put one on my plate! Come!"

Giggling at his enthusiasm, Ella strolled into the kitchen, returning with a plate and cutlery, then sitting down next to my kid and reaching for a pancake. Having dinner guests this housewarm certainly wasn't much trouble!

I'd been a little worried that I'd be acting differently when Ella was around after we'd had sex, but luckily, it turned out she was still the very same Ella she'd always been, adoring my son and being excellent company for the both of us, making it easy going to be around her, despite me knowing very well what she looked like in the nude. I had, gratefully, found that I was able to be around her without constantly undressing her in my mind. Thank God.

"Thomas," she began as she poured a little sugar on her pancake before rolling it up. "This weekend, I've got no plans at all, so I was wondering if I could perhaps borrow you for a few hours? We could go to the kindergarten playground, for instance, if it is OK with your dad?"

He nodded vigorously. -'Yes!!!! YES!!!' Ella glanced over at me. I nodded. "That would be perfect, I need to tinker a little with the car sometime soon, so if you keep him entertained for an hour or three, I can get it done then..."

Ella smiled. "That's settled, then. Maybe I could even borrow your dad a little, too, huh?" He nodded again, eagerly. I instantly felt I went beet red; Ella noticed and threw me a quick, impish smile before putting a finger to her lips while Thomas resumed his attack on the pancake remains on his plate, indicating she wouldn't pursue the matter further.

With dinner taken care of - it never ceased to amaze me how a 35-pound kid could seemingly eat 10% of his body weight in a single meal, at least if that meal was pancakes - Thomas went outside to play lawn croquet with himself until us grown-ups had done the dishes. He'd made us promise we'd play him a round as soon as we were done, and if past experience was anything to go by, we'd be on the hook until we'd played a couple of games.

"Mom and dad are going away this weekend, by the way!" Ella beamed as she put away the plates. "I trust you won't mind if I happen to drop by, would you?"

"Not at all. Your father's already recruited me to be on red alert in case your wild home alone party gets a bit out of hand, your water mains bursts, a meteor strikes or any other emergency."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, then giggled as she hoisted herself onto the countertop. "That's SO him. I've never - like, EVER - had more than two or three friends, tops, visiting at a time - yet he's been convinced ever since I was 13 or something that the first home alone-house wreaking has been just around the corner. You know, of the 'driving a scooter indoors, turning the upstairs bathroom into a swimming pool' variety."

She paused for an instant, turning to look out the window over the sink. "Which I almost take as an insult, seeing as I've been about as much trouble as a nun would've been. I never really got around to any teenage rebellion!" She giggled. "The only un-nunesque activity I engage in is sleeping with our twice-my-age neighbour. Of which, I might add, my father's got no clue."

I flushed deep red again, but joined her in laughing at her comment. "That you do. By the way, and please do not take this as a criticism, but... I really do think it would be best if you -or I, for that matter- didn't drop any hints like during dinner, no matter how opaque they may be. I'm not concerned that Thomas will understand what's being implied, rather that he'd notice me acting funny or something; it's amazing how good he is at sensing my mood."

She nodded in agreement, suddenly serious. "The thought struck me, just as I'd said it," she said softly. Easing herself off the countertop, then pouring herself a glass of water, she turned to face me. "But seeing as we're on the topic - what... Well, what should we do if, God forbid, he's suddenly standing in the doorway, wondering what we're doing with each other?"

I sighed, glancing out at the free-form lawn croquet game being conducted inbetween our two apple trees. "I've been thinking of that, too. I even considered whether we had better only, ah, do it while he's out of the house, be it in kindergarten, at his grandparents'..."

Ella nodded, then filled in the conclusion I'd arrived at, too. "...but him being away would kind make it odd that I was hanging around here, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly." I provided my best imitation of a gallic shrug, then turning on the stove to prepare a couple of espressos before heading out. "I eventually convinced myself it'd be safe in the evenings, though. He sleeps like a rock, hell, the other day one of our smoke detectors threw a fit in the middle of the night, and once I'd killed it I went to his room to soothe him, only to find him asleep."

I paused while grinding the coffee - one of the luxuries I indulged in was good coffee, so a grinder which wouldn't look out of place at a barista's had a prominent place on the countertop - but it sounded almost like a jet during its takeoff run while it did its thing, so any conversation was futile.

Luckily, it did its thing quickly. "Also, he hardly ever wakes up during the night. Since Tania left, well, since he'd gotten used to it just being the two of us... It has only been one single time he's come to my room in the night - and fifteen seconds later, he proceeded to puke all over the bed, poor thing."

I tamped the coffee, assembled the kettle and put it on the stove. "Anyway, this is just a long-winded way of saying that once he's asleep, he's lost to this world, at least as long as he's feeling well. I'd put the odds at his surprising us somewhere between nil and zilch."

I smiled briefly as a memory from a couple of years ago popped into my mind. "Besides, I think he's still so young he wouldn't connect the dots, panic or anything. He walked in on me and Tania once while we were at it, and his only concern was that we had to make make room for him so that he could sleep there. That doesn't mean he wouldn't wonder why 'auntie' Ella slept here, of course - but I don't think we'd traumatize him or anything. The big question, of course, is whether he'd mention it to anyone - and if he did, whether they'd take him at his word or just put it down to some misinterpretation..."

Ella gazed out the window again; judging from the muffled cries of joy coming in from the outside, the croquet game was going rather well. Just as I poured her a cup, she shrugged. "Let's just leave it at that, shall we? That is, not make it an issue until, well, it is one?"

I nodded. "I think... Well, yes. Let's not overthink it. In the unlikely event he does see us, I think we'll need to handle it on the fly, it sure will depend on how he reacts."

I didn't tell her, but I had pondered the subject time and time again. After but a single tryst, I found myself wanting more. Much more. Consequences be damned. I'd save my regrets for when, well, if the shit ever hit the fan and we were outed, hoping that day would never come.

Sipping the strong, black coffee, I gazed at the kid we were about to join in a minute, smiling. "He's still young enough that he probably, hopefully, even hasn't given much thought to the fact that there are some things you'd better not tell others about."

I glanced over at her, throwing her a quick smile before returning my attention to Thomas outside, then continued.

"I don't think he could be counted on - well, make that 'be expected to', he's simply too young for it to be fair to expect him to keep a secret. He'd probably try if I asked him to, but of course - if one of the other kids mention he walked in on his parents the other night, and they were doing things together, on the bed... Well, he'd be as likely as not to say 'Oh, daddy and Ella does that, too!'. We'll just have to hope it never happens."

Ella raised the tiny cup in a mock toast. "Here's to that." She giggled. "Lover."

Putting the cup down, she wasted no time heading for the door, easing her feet into her flipflops and heading down to challenge Thomas. After putting the cups in the sink and cleaning out the espresso kettle, I, too, joined them.

Being a bit late to the party, I took a moment to enjoy the sight - while Ella had a number of talents, the one I probably admired most was her almost uncanny ability to connect with children; I still caught myself occasionally treating any kid, not just my own, like a small adult, becoming frustrated when they didn't act like reasonable adults, for instance if new rules were both created and dismissed with wild abandon during a game.

Ella? She leaped aroud the lawn, following Thomas as best she could as they both knocked their croquet balls around what passed for my garden in a seemingly random fashion, amid hoots and cries of laughter.

I shook my head, realizing in some ways, perhaps even in many, she probably would make for a better parent than I ever did, before brushing the thought aside. It did sting a little, though.

Just then, Thomas veered off behind a blackcurrant bush, deciding it was a wonderful place to hide. Ella knocked her ball towards me, then came strolling over, glancing over at the giggling blackcurrant bush. "I wonder where Thomas went?" she said aloud before lowering her voice as she approached me.

"On the sleeping here topic," she began, smiling faintly as if the mere mention made her relive the first time she did so. It sure made me relive some highlights. I strained to shed the thought and pay attention to what she was saying instead. "I can probably improve our odds a little, should he ever mention anywhere that he saw me in bed or something. I occasionally doze off on the sofa. I say I am tired after a long day of school and part-time work, my parents suggest maybe I spend too much time in front of my Macbook in the evenings."

I returned her gaze, quizzically, but with a fair idea where she was heading. "I'll just mention once or twice that I did that at your place, too - dozing off while trying to get Thomas to sleep, on the sofa while just sitting there, waiting to see if he was really asleep - something like that. With any luck, if he says he saw me in bed, lying, sleeping whatever at your place, then at least my parents ought to, well, believe that's what he means."

She giggled, throwing me another rather impish smile. "Besides, I am sure they'd much rather believe that's what he meant -that I fell asleep while putting him to bed- rather than assuming their precious only daughter was having her pussy eaten out by Thomas' dad or something. I SO expect you to do that to me again sometime soon, by the way."

With that, she turned away and started looking for Thomas, expertly avoiding the bush he was hiding behind while thoroughly exploring every other part of the garden lot.

I? I was left dumbfounded, painfully erect, before gathering myself and joining in on the search for the mysteriously disappeared four-year old.

My mind was racing, though. I desperately hoped we'd never have to put any deception plan into play.

I had done the rounds with myself and whatever moral compass I might possess and come to the conclusion that our... Well, I couldn't yet bring myself to call it a relationship, perhaps rather a mutual understanding at this point - that our mutual understanding was fully above board, despite the age difference. Not only was Ella of legal age, it had also been quite clear that she'd thought this over, and she didn't appear to have any secret crush on me which made sex seem a price she'd be willing to pay to be near me -I had to stifle a laugh at the thought- she'd entered into this as a consenting adult, albeit a young one and as long as we both found it enjoyable, what did the world need to care?

Except, of course, the world would care. With all sorts of possible consequences, if not legal ones. Yet I couldn't bring myself to do the sensible thing, gently suggesting to Ella that perhaps we'd better leave well enough alone and end our understanding before it became the talk of the town. I had already become way too thrilled at the promise of the pleasure to be had, as long as we kept this up. I sighed, then 'accidentally' found Thomas just as he was about to lose interest in the hiding game.

The ensuing round of croquet was by no means the best I'd ever played, but it sure was the funniest, with both Ella, Thomas and I in a brilliant mood. I even, much to my relief and surprise, found that the fun had driven my mind from the thought of eating Ella out, causing my hard-on to subside.

As afternoon turned to evening, we eventually had to move back indoors; it was a tired, but content little kid who had a couple of slices of bread with jam for supper, then had his favourite babysitter bar none put him to bed.

I considered myself very lucky; while the two of us generally had a very good time together, I was grateful he got to spend a little time with other grown-ups. Particularly Ella - one thing, of course, being that he adored the hell out of her, but additionally, she... I remembered her words on the porch last week, that she felt he was a little hers, too, in a way. She was right. She was the closest he came to a mother figure for the time being, which, undoubtedly, was part of the reason he adored her so. Not that the circumstances lessened Ella's part in him being so fond of her, mind. I smiled as the soft murmur of voices from his bedroom became more and more muffled as he gave up his quest to stay awake.

Another few minutes later, just as the sun dipped below the horizon at a quarter past eight, Ella returned to the living room. "Deed done", she smiled. "Now THAT was one tired, happy camper."

I smiled. "No wonder, that - getting up at oh six early to get to kindergarten before I head for work, then charging his batteries on a metric shitload of pancakes before spending hours playing lawn croquet cum hide-and-seek cum calvinball - before being put to bed by a beautiful redhead. What's not to like?"

Ella giggled and sat down at the far end of the sofa, sending me a sly smile. "Funny you should mention that." Stretching out, she purred like a cat most pleased with itself. "This beautiful redhead wonders when you're going to do that thing with your tongue to her again."

I swallowed. I'd hoped she might suggest we do a repeat performance tonight. I nodded, eagerly. "Will 'now' fit said beautiful redhead's schedule?" I asked, quite proud to keep a steady voice as seemingly all the blood left my head, racing for my loins, leaving me feeling light-headed in the process.

Winking, Ella threw a quick glance around her to make sure the curtains were drawn, then undid the button and started wiggling out of her jeans. "How soon is now?" she giggled, making me smile at the Smiths reference; I knew her mother, Elin, was quite passionate about The Smiths. Apparently, some of her good taste had rubbed off on her daughter, too.

Seconds later, Ella sat there, still with her black tee on, but naked from the waist down. She didn't need to beckon me to her; I eagerly got up, crossed the space between us in two long strides and knelt between her legs, gently pushing them apart, her thick, full tuft of red hair right in front of me. I glanced up at her, meeting her quite expectant gaze.

"Please do it," she said in a quiet voice. "Ever since last time, I..." She smiled faintly, as if in disbelief. "Ever since last time, I haven't... Well, masturbating still feels good, doubly so if I do it while reliving our first time, but as I now know how good this can be..."

I smiled and winked at her, fully understanding the feeling; I, too, had been reminded quite forcefully how incredible it felt to have passionate sex with someone beside myself. I dived in, a squeal of delight coming from Ella as my tongue probed her, forcing her pubic hair aside in search of that holiest of holies between her thighs.

I struck gold. Ella eagerly edged herself forward, thrusting her sex into my face. Not that I complained, mind.

I loved going down on a woman. The arousing scent, being so close to the action, the immediate feedback - what was there not to like? Playfully probing her with my tongue, I felt her place her hand over the back of my head, pushing me closer.

OK. Have it your way, I thought. Burying my face in her, pressing my nose against her clit, I pushed my tongue deeper, lapping up her juices. She whimpered and pushed me closer still; I picked up the pace a little, then did my best to come up for air. I licked my index finger, then dove back in, letting my tongue tickle her clit hood as my index finger slid inside her, getting a guttural moan from above for my trouble; Ella had placed her legs over my back, thighs keeping my head in a vise grip just where she wanted it to be. I slowly started fingering her while closing my lips over her clit, gently, very gently sucking, then just holding still. Ella impatiently bucked towards my face.