3

The hair at the back of my neck stood on end as I took in the stoic look on his face. I nodded, wiped my hands against my shorts and followed him into the living room. He took off his jacket and tie and draped them over the armchair before turning to me.

“If this is about Greg; it was not my fault.”

        “It’s not about Greg,” my dad chuckled, “Although, we do need to talk about him.”

“There’s nothing to talk about; he was a dick and I treated him like a dick; story over.” I flashed a wide smile, “What did you want to talk about?”

“I’m traveling tomorrow.” At first, I wondered why he made it such a big deal to tell me but then it hit me.

       “You’re not going to be here for the fourth of July.” He gave me a sheepish smile and nodded.

My father and I have celebrated every Fourth of July together since the day I was born. His parents usually come over and we have this huge family barbeque in the backyard. For the last six years, Jake has been joining us as well. The barbeque will still hold because we have made all the preparations but it won’t be the same without him.

At the end of the day, we always sit together with our burgers and watch the fireworks. It won’t be the same if he isn’t there.

I sighed deeply before speaking, “How long are you gone for?”

“At least two weeks,” my brows rose at that. He has never been gone for so long, “It’s an important deal and I can’t leave until it’s finalized. That can take anytime from two days to a month. If it exceeds a month then I’ll come home for a while before going back.”

      “It’s okay,” I assured him with a tap on the shoulder, “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can sweetheart,” he pressed a kiss to my forehead, “Maybe we can watch a movie tonight; I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning.”

      “But tomorrow is Saturday; you can leave later during the day.”

“I have a meeting tomorrow evening; I have to leave early so I am not completely jetlagged.”

      “Fine,” I resigned with a sigh, “But I’m picking the movie.”

He laughed at that, “Yes ma’am.”

*********************************

By the time the movie was over, I pretended to be asleep to enjoy my dad’s presence for a little while longer. I have a feeling he knew I was asleep but he didn’t wake me up, instead, he carried me up into bed.

I fell asleep soon after and woke up when I heard a knock on my door. Father stepped in to tell me he was leaving and gave me one parting forehead kiss before carrying his bag into his car.

He was dressed pretty casually in black sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt. I could tell by the bags under his eyes that he was tired but I didn’t point it out. He wouldn’t get any sleep either way and I would rather he thinks that he looks good.

I couldn’t fall asleep after that so I made my way into the gym to get some workout done. I don’t know how long I spent there but by the time I was winded and I looked at the clock, it was just 6 a.m.

I decided to use that time to finish up Jake’s contract. I normally don’t work on Saturday’s- no matter how important it is. I try to keep my personal life away from my business life but I have no plans today so I decided it was best to finish it up.

I finished it pretty early and by the time I got to the kitchen, Alana was already there.

“You can have the day off,” I told her as I walked in, “it’s just me today and I can pretty much do everything.”

       “Are you sure?” she asked and I nodded.

“Dad doesn’t have to know; I can handle myself.”

      “Thank you,” she pulled me into a hug, “One of my grandson’s has a presentation this morning that I really didn’t want to miss.”

I spent the next five minutes assuring her that it was completely fine if she left. By the time she was sure I wasn’t going to go into a teenage frenzy, she left.

It felt relieving to have the house all to myself. I haven’t had that in- forever. Either my dad is here, or Alana, or guests or someone. I made myself breakfast, and after eating, I lay in front of the TV browsing through channels.

That got boring pretty quickly, and by 1 p.m. I was bored out of my mind and out of ideas. I went back to my room and saw Jake’s contract on my desk and it gave me an idea.

I took a picture of it and sent it to him with the caption: “I’m done; come get your shit.”

He replied almost immediately: “I’ll get it on Monday; you don’t work Saturday’s.”

Me: Why don’t you come and get it from the house?

Jake: That would be very unprofessional.

Me: You’ve been in my house far too much for it to be unprofessional. Besides, I won’t be in the office on Monday.

That is a lie, but I would do and say anything to get him in the house right now. I waited with bated breath for five minutes before he responded with a simple OK.

I let out a squeal of glee and rushed into the bathroom to freshen up and make myself look semi presentable. After taking a bath and polishing my skin till it shone, I wore a pair of orange pyjama shorts that had half of my ass hanging out with a cute white sleeveless tank top.

I tied my hair up into a messy bun and put on my fuzzy slippers. I grabbed my silk white robe and threw it over my shoulders then waited anxiously on my bed. It was almost an hour before he sent me a text saying he was outside.

I took my time going down the stairs because I didn’t want to look too desperate. I opened the door slowly and leaned against the frame.

Jake looked severely uncomfortable and out of place. He had his arm crossed over his chest and he was in his usual suit. I could see his car parked out front, almost as if he expected to just take the document from me and leave.

“Come in,” I stepped aside to let him in.

        “I just came to get the documents Hayley.”

“I know,” I threw over my shoulder, “But it’s rude to not come in.”

I didn’t wait for his response; I walked into the house, leaving the door open behind me. I heard him mutter under his breath before finally walking in and shutting the door behind him.

“I made enchiladas,” I began, “Would you like some?”

        “I didn’t come here to fraternize Hayley.”

“You’re always so formal with me,” I teased, “I’m home alone for the first time in a long time and I need company so humor me.”

He followed me into the kitchen and I handed him a plate full. He thanked me and took a small bite from it. It occurred to me as he ate that he had never actually eaten anything I have cooked before. I watched and scrutinized his every move and expression and I was satisfied when he finally nodded.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

I made my way towards the cupboard and stood on my toes to reach the spices at the top drawer. While I was trying to pull out an Oreo, my hand hit the curry and it fell to the floor; thankfully it didn’t get on my body but it gave me an idea.

Jake tried to help me clean up but I assured him I could do it by myself and gestured for him to sit in the living room and wait for me. I cleaned up the little mess and made a mental note to get some from the grocery store because if Alana hears that I poured out her curry, she would kill me.

I brewed fresh coffee for Jake and myself and took it to the living room for him. He tried to tell me that he wanted to leave but I ignored him and went back to get the milk. As I made my way over to him, I pretended to trip over my feet and spilled the milk all over my body.

Jake cursed and rushed over to grab some tissues while I quickly took the robe off me. He turned around and I saw the exact moment he froze in place.

I knew what he was seeing; my boobs peeking out from the low cut of the almost completely transparent tank top, my thighs on full display and half of my ass hanging out. His eyes quickly moved to my face but ever so lightly, I would see them flicker to my body.

“I should-,” he began and I knew he was about to pull away so I made my way over to him and took a hold of his hand that had the tissues.

       “You wanted to help me clean, right?” He swallowed but didn’t respond, “So help me.”

I guided his hand down to my chest where some of the milk had spilled on my bare skin. I guided the tissue over my body and he let me.

“Maybe,” I began, “It’ll be easier if you used your hand.”

       “Hayley,” his voice was hoarse and rough, “Your father-,”

“Isn’t here right now,” I cut him off, “It’s just me and you.”

His throat bobbed as he thought about it. I could see the cogs turning in his head and I knew he would think his way out of it- I didn’t want that. I took the tissue out of his hand and dropped it on the table then guided his hand to my chest. The heat from his hand seared my skin and I took in a short breath as he touched me.

“Hayley,” he began.

       “We both want this.” I stepped impossibly closer to him, “So why are you fighting it?”