*All characters are at least 18 years old*
*****
The jingling of keys at the front door woke me up. There was a light thump against the door and then a chorus of giggles from a man and woman. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings were back from their night out.
I kicked off the blanket covering me just as they opened the door. They walked in arm in arm, Mrs. Jennings struggling to keep upright as she leaned against her husband. I smoothed out my hair and tried to look like I hadn't been sleeping and had been watching TV while attentively listening out for their infant upstairs.
Mr. Jennings propped Mrs. Jennings against the wall and stepped back when it looked like she could stand on her own. She swayed slightly as she closed her eyes and laid her head back, pressing her long, platinum blonde curls against the wall. Her lips fell open and her head sagged and for a moment it looked like she was going to be sick. Her lipstick was bright red and matched her short, bright red dress. It stopped several inches above her knees and hugged every one of her womanly curves.
Mr. Jennings stepped over to her and buried his face in her neck and nibbled it, causing her to screech and swat him on the back. "Stop it Harold!" she said, slurring her words and cackling like a lunatic. She'd clearly had plenty to drink this evening. Mr. Jennings stepped away and turned to face me, noticing me for the first time.
"Jasmine!" he said. "How did everything go?"
"It was fine. I put him down at seven. He's been out ever since," I said. "I checked in on him every thirty minutes," I added, lying.
"That's a relief," Mrs. Jennings said, placing a hand on her chest just below her neck.
"See?" Mr. Jennings said, turning to her, "there was no reason to worry. Jasmine here had it all under control." He turned back to me smiling and gave me a wink with a finger-gun gesture.
"Well, thank you Jasmine," Mrs. Jennings nodded at me. "I'm going to go check on my little prince." She staggered for the stairs and one of her red high-heel shoes slipped out from under her, sending her toppling towards the steps. She placed her hands on the steps at the last second and managed to avoid smacking her pretty face. She let out a long laugh and began crawling up the stairs on her hands and knees.
When she was about five steps up, Mr. Jennings ran over and pinched her ass, which drew a yelp from her. "Your king will be up in a minute to tuck you in," he said. She responded by swiveling her ass at him, then continued up the stairs.
I had started to put my shoes on and took my empty drinking glass into the kitchen. When I came back in, Mr. Jennings was sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the TV.
"Thanks for coming over on such short notice," he said. "Between work and the baby, we almost never have any time for ourselves anymore. It was really good for her to get out."
"It's no problem. I didn't have any plans for tonight anyway. I'm glad my friend Rachel recommended me to you."
"No plans on a Saturday night? Really? A pretty girl like you?" He flashed me a toothy, pearly white smile that made my stomach warm. "If I was your boyfriend, I wouldn't leave you home on a wonderful night like this. I'd wine you and dine you and treat you right, the way a gorgeous lady deserves to be treated." The heat in my stomach began to rise into my chest. "And...then I'd take you home and try to get into your pants," he added, winking at me.
I grinned and looked down at the floor, shifting my weight on my feet. "Well...I...umm...my boyfriend has a road game this weekend. The team won't be back until tomorrow."
Mr. Jennings stroked his chin. "That's a shame. He should be more careful about leaving town and leaving his hot girlfriend vulnerable to other guys. Who knows? One of them might try to take advantage of her." His eyes slowly swept down over my chest, midsection and legs before returning to my face.
I was so startled by his comments and eye-fucking that I was at a loss for words. I bit down on my lower lip and averted my eyes from him.
He let out a loud laugh and clapped his hands together. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I clearly had one too many refreshments earlier." He rubbed his hands over his face and then shook his head. I briefly glanced at his face before turning my gaze away again. "Oh yes! Money. The lady deserves to be paid for her services," he said. He stood up and pulled his wallet from his slacks. He began walking toward me as he fished through his wallet and continued to close the gap until we were about a foot apart. I tried to back up but ran into the edge of the doorway leading into the kitchen. I felt my heart begin to race.
I could smell alcohol coming off him. Beneath the alcohol was the fragrance of a spicy cologne along with his natural masculine scent. The mix of smells was intoxicating and was making my head swimmy. I gazed up at his face as he continued to flip through his wallet. He was a very attractive man. His jaw looked like it had been chiseled from stone. His brown hair was combed back over his head, not a hair out of place. When he looked up from his wallet, I was lost for a moment in the sea of his ice blue eyes.
"I think I gave the last of my cash to the valet at the restaurant," he said. "Give me a sec, I'll be right back." He turned and strode over to the stairs and jogged up.
"Get a hold of yourself, Jasmine," I told myself when he was gone. "He's like thirty-something. He's old enough to be your father for crying out loud." I strolled over to the mantle above their fireplace and picked up a picture of him, Mrs. Jennings, and their baby. A beautiful couple and a beautiful child. I smiled and ran my fingers over the glass frame.
Mr. Jennings came bounding down the stairs a few moments later. "Here you are, sixty dollars cash," he said. He held three crisp twenties out to me. My eyes lit up at the sight of the money. When I reached to take it, he grabbed my wrist gently, and pushed the money into my hand. My breath caught in my throat at the feel of his warm skin on mine. He passed his thumb over my wrist before letting it go. For a moment, it felt like my arm had gone numb. He turned and walked to the couch and fell back on it.
With the money now in hand, I figured my babysitting job was complete. "Thank you again for hiring me," I said. "If you need a sitter again, feel free to call anytime." I began walking toward the door when Mr. Jennings called out to me.
"Hey, what's the rush?" he said. I turned back, confused. "I wasn't trying to throw you out by paying you," he said. "Why don't you stick around and hang out for a little while? It's not that late."
I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already after midnight. I wasn't sure what his game was. "Umm...I should go," I said, taking another step toward the door. "My mom will wonder where I am."
"Oh, there's no need for her to worry. You're here safe with me." He flashed that Hollywood smile again and I felt the warmth going into my stomach again. He waved me over and patted the cushion next to him.
I don't know why I went over there. His blue eyes were pulled me like a magnet. I felt my feet carrying me to the couch, and before I knew it, I was sitting down on it. I sat down on the far end away from him.
He made small talk with me and periodically changed the TV channel before settling on an action movie. Talking with him made me feel mature. He was so refined and charming. It's not that my boyfriend was overly immature, but most of the conversations I had with him were about sports, or video games, or something silly that had happened at school. And in high school, it seemed like something silly happened every day. I craved more from a relationship than being regaled with tales about cafeteria food fights.
When the movie went off, I decided it was getting way late. "I should probably go now, my mom will freak if I'm not home soon." Before I had a chance to get up, Mr. Jennings slid over on the couch until he was right next to me. He placed his hand on my thigh, which made me freeze.
"Just a little longer," he said. "It's not even 1:00 am yet. In any event, I should drive you home. You shouldn't be walking alone this time of night. Give me a couple more minutes to finish sobering up and I'll take you." His fingers were gently squeezing my thigh. His scent wafted up to my nose again, making the room spin. My throat felt dry, but I managed to speak.
"Umm...it's just that, we have church in the morning and we-aiyeeee!" I yelped when I felt his hand slide higher up my leg. He leaned in closer and I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I hoped he couldn't see how fast I was breathing.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, looking down at his hand but making no effort to remove it. "I hope I'm not making you nervous."