Jack S Hanson was his name. Ha. The girls in the Baby-Sitter's Club referred to him as Jack's Handsome. I mean, that man was a honey. Hot? He raised temperatures on impressionable women where-ever he went. Young or old, they were all willing to cast loving eyes upon him.
I'm not sure what it was about him that made him look so attractive. Admittedly he was tall, about six foot, but a lot of men are that tall. Bushy black hair that seemed to have a soft sheen to it and dark blue eyes that just seemed to swallow you when he focused his attention on you. Again, so what? Dark hair and blue eyes are quite commonplace. Throw a rock into the street and you'd probably hit a dark haired man, they're that common.
Maybe it was his physique. It was obvious that he must work out at a gym somewhere as he was trim and fit. Not skinny. Trim, but with some beef behind it. I imagined that if he flexed his muscles he'd have a lot of muscle to flex. A straight roman nose and firm sensual lips, his face wasn't what you'd call conventionally handsome but he certainly managed to look distinguished.
I saw him in jeans once. Reasonably tight jeans, at that, and he certainly looked studly. A very neat bottom, not that I noticed, not being the sort of girl to go around admiring a man's bottom. Still, one couldn't help wondering about the various attributes of some men.
He was one of these men where you couldn't really define what his appeal was. It was just that there was a sort of charisma to him, helped by the fact that he was genuinely nice and kind. Kids and kittens probably ran up to him to be patted. He was trustworthy. Some of the girls were probably irritated by that trustworthiness but that was just them.
He was also single which leaves you asking the question as to why the Babysitter's Club talked about him. It's because he has a married sister who does have children. Sometimes he has the kid's for the weekend and occasionally he has to go out on one of those weekends. That's when he calls the Babysitter's Club.
The girls in the clubs all take turns being the contact point for people wanting a sitter. By an odd chance I was the contact point when Jack required a sitter. I was happy to inform him that I could sit for him on the coming Friday night.
I fronted up on Friday night just as Jack was putting the kids to bed. They knew me as I'd met them before and I didn't think they'd be any trouble. Well, not too much trouble, but kids always try to push the boundaries. It's what kids do.
Anyway, Jack tucked them in and we left them to go to sleep.
"Thanks for coming over, Patti," he said. "We've got a team meeting and I have to be there. Honestly, some of the parents come up with the strangest complaints. One woman wanted all matches deferred for six weeks because her son had a broken leg and wouldn't be able to play for that length of time. She didn't take it well when I pointed out he couldn't play even when he didn't have a broken leg."
I laughed. I could just imagine him putting someone down like that. A little mean, possibly, but with some people you have to be.
"You're looking good," he told me, and my heart fluttered. "You must be nearly eighteen now."
My heart stopped fluttering. Did he think I was a child?
"Closer to nineteen than eighteen," I said I what I thought was a polite voice.
"Sudden chill in the air," he said with a grin. "I meant, of course, that you must be nearly nineteen now."
I just gave him a look and he laughed. Shortly after that he departed and as soon as the sound of the car died away the sound of kids getting out of bed could be heard.
Eventually the kids were back in bed and asleep. I stayed on full alert until I was sure they were both dead to the world and then I relaxed and turned on the TV. Quietly, because sometimes kids have the hearing of a bat, usually triggered by you not wanting them to hear something.
I wasn't expect a very late night as Jack would probably come home straight after the club meeting, although he might stop for a quick drink on the way, especially if the parents had been particularly dense. It's hard to be the coach of a junior football team. Unpaid and unloved, but you get to be a dictator which is what Jack says keeps him going.
Jack returned at a reasonable hour looking very pleased. The meeting had gone well, mainly because Mrs Featherwell couldn't attend, having been hospitalized with a broken leg.
"It just goes to show that god does answer prayer," Jack said with a grin.
"Poor woman," I said sympathetically. "How'd it happen?"
"She tripped over her son's crutches," Jack said, sounding quite happy about it. I guessed she was the woman who'd wanted all the matches deferred six weeks. Some people have no sense.
Now when I got ready to come to Jack's place there had been several considerations on my mind. First, I was babysitting and had to wear clothes where it wouldn't matter if the kid's soiled them. Second, the kids would be going to bed about the time I arrived and I wouldn't really have much interaction with them. Third, I was sitting for Jack.
That last item had weighed fairly heavily on my mind and I finished up dressing with Jack in mind. It wasn't as though I was going to try and seduce him or anything like that but a girl did like to look good when around someone like Jack. I'd finished up going with older clothes that still suited me very well.
I had on a lacy button-up blouse with little pearl buttons down the front. For a skirt I'd grabbed a colourful half-length gypsy skirt that flared out nicely if I turned quickly. It had an elasticized waistband which meant no buttons or zips and I was pleased to see that my waist was still the right size to wear it. I'd grown a little since I last wore it but from the strain on my blouse I was guessing that the biggest difference in my stature was concentrated around my bust. OK, and possibly my hips, but I still had a trim waist and my bottom did not look fat, my little brother's opinion being grandly ignored.
What I expected once Jack got home was that he'd offer me a cup of coffee before I left, we'd talk for a while, me trying to flirt, him not noticing, and then I'd go home. What I did not expect was that he'd walk up to me and start undoing those little buttons on my blouse.