"Hurry mom, I'm gonna be late!" Olivia yelled as she waited for her mom at the bottom of the stairs.
Her mother, Ashley, was a single mother, having had Olivia at just 19 years old. Olivia's dad left town almost immediately after finding out Ashley was pregnant. Her mother had always told her to stay away from older guys, but naturally, she didn't listen.
Ashley ran down the steps, slipping and catching herself on the last stair as she usually did. Their loft apartment wasn't big, but it was enough space for the two of them. Ashley, now 26, had come far in the past few years. She went from a dead-end restaurant job, to now working as a property manager, overseeing 15 different properties in the area. She was able to escape her mother's 2 bedroom house and finally get a place of her own for Olivia and herself. There was, however, one thing missing.
Due to the hustle of the past few years, Ashley had let her love life come to a screeching halt. After having Olivia, half of her friends stopped keeping in touch, and the other half either got married or moved to the West Coast. For the most part, she was okay with this, as she was quite busy. She had made many positive changes in her life over the past year for herself and Olivia. One thing she couldn't change however was her proclivity to be late for everything.
"Let's go! Out the door. Hurry, hurry!" Ashley exclaimed as she pushed Olivia out the door, closing and locking it behind her. They jogged to the car, trying not to slip on the fresh coat of black ice the freezing temperatures of the night had left behind. They rushed into the car, covered with a reflective coating of ice, started the engine, and blasted the heat toward the windshield. Realizing this was going to take more time than they had, she rushed out and started scraping like her life depended on it. And while her life did not truly depend on it, Olivia's perfect attendance at the Oak Ridge Private School did.
Ashley was always a little shorter than other girls. She didn't mind as this had allowed her to do all the stunts in her high school cheerleading days. It also kept her closer to the ground when she would slip on the bottom step of their apartment. She had naturally blonde hair and pretty blue eyes that seemed to glow in the sunlight. She had put a little weight on in the past few years, but it fit her well.
As they pulled up to the school, Ashley quickly got out and swung around to help Olivia out, grabbing her backpack and rushing her to the front door. They were 5 minutes late, and Ashley was stressed knowing she would have to talk her way out of Olivia being tardy. Her scholarship was dependent on maintaining attendance and certainly not being late. They were let in by the door monitor and rushed to the front office where Ashley began apologizing profusely to the heavy-set woman that sat in her rolling chair across from them.
"This is the fourth time this month, you two must start getting here on time! The bell already rang and this will only serve as a distraction to the other children!" the heavy-set woman said condescendingly.
"I know, I know! This is the last time, I promise!" Ashley begged.
"I'll let it slide once more. But only this one time!" the woman continued, "and we would very much appreciate it if you made it to the PTA meeting tonight." The woman pulled her glasses slightly down her nose and sneered up at Ashley. "For Olivia's sake."
If there was one thing Ashley despised it was the PTA meetings. But if it meant keeping Olivia at her school, she would go. In the past two years at this school, she had only attended one meeting. Unsurprisingly, she was the youngest parent there and had had no voice when it came to the decision making. She tried to say something once, but was quickly spoken over by a witch of a woman named Sandy.
Tonight, Olivia was staying at her grandmother's house and Ashley was able to make it to the meeting. She pulled into the school parking lot, this time 5 minutes early which was a first for her. She got out of her car and headed towards the door. Her jacket barely kept her warm with the wind chill creating sub-freezing temperatures. A single light above the main entrance door buzzed as she approached the door. She grabbed the handle, pulled open the door, and headed inside. The warmth of the building felt nice as she made her way to the auditorium.
There was a healthy number of parents there tonight. As she expected, many of the mothers gossipped in the corner by the stage. A few of the dads were engaged sat in the front row, waiting for leadership to kick off the night. The other dads, whose wives gossipped, sat a few rows back, watching the football game on their phone.
Ashley made her way down the aisle and sat on an end seat about 7 rows back. To her left was a dad she recognized but had never spoken to, although she wished she had. He remained staring down at his phone as she took off her jacket and placed it on her lap.
What was his name? Brian?
Whatever his name was, he was hot as hell. He had to have been around 6 and a half feet tall and no older than 40. The collar of his button down shirt came through his navy blue sweater. His brown hair was slicked back. Ashley came to realization that she was staring after too many passing seconds.
"Can I help you?" Brian asked without even looking up from his phone.
"Huh? Me?" Ashley replied, slightly shocked.
"Yeah you," he said, turning his head to see who his admirer was. His eyes widened a little bit as he was hardly expecting a girl as pretty as Ashley. And she did look quite pretty tonight. The cold from outside had rosied-up her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, however this was probably just tears from the windchill.
"I don't remember seeing you here before," he said as he clicked off his phone with his thumb, giving her his full attention. "Are you a new teacher or something?"
"No, no. My daughter goes here," Ashley blurted out. "I'm just not usually into this type of thing."
"Not into what? Supporting your child's academic endeavors?" He looked sternly at her and she started to appear uncomfortable. "Relax, I'm fucking with you."
Suddenly, Ashley's phone slipped from her hand and fell at her feet. They both reached down, and her hand covered his. It felt nice. Soft, but also rough. She resisted the urge to keep her hand on his and quickly pulled it back.
"Thank you," she said as he handed her the phone. They both smiled at each other as she slumped back into her chair, slightly embarrassed.
A woman she recognized as Sandy started walking up the aisle, she looked annoyed.
"Are you really sitting all the way back here?" her arms were crossed as she snapped at Brian. "Get up. We're going to the front." Sandy completely ignored Ashley.
She stormed back down the aisle back to front of the auditorium as Brian started to get up.
Brian looked down to Ashley, "Well, duty calls. Nice meeting you, uh..."
"Ash...Ashley," she said.
"Well Ashley, I'll see you around."
Ashley stood up, making space in the narrow row for him to exit. As Brian tried to scoot past her his back was to her as he shuffled left, his ass rubbing against her front. He smelled good.
The meeting started and, as expected, was not something Ashley was even remotely interested in. There was arguing, laughing, plans being made, trips scheduled, all of which Ashley paid no mind to as she couldn't get Brian out of her mind. She stared at the back of his head from her seat.
