Page 13 of Wicked Wishes
Truth be told, he never actually needs a babysitter. Sure, work takes him to Crystal Cove from time to time, but he works his hours around her. Hope just started preschool so her days are full of finger painting and scaring the other normal kids. I told her to embrace her weird and that little girl doesn’t do anything lightly.
Since he first asked me to babysit, I have had exactly four actual nights with just me and Hope. Not that it stayed that way long—he finishes his work up faster and faster. Earlier this week I babysat for Koda, and he brought Hope over to the Dole’s house. I suspect he was checking up on me.
Something I came to realize he does often.
“Do you watch me?” I wonder as we sit on my back patio watching Hope jump into the pile of leaves we spent the day raking.
“Yeah, I do,” he says without shame, clearing his throat and going on, “I started before you babysat that night at Keegan’s place, but after that.... I felt like I had to know you were safe. And then knowing you were safe wasn’t enough. I would walk Binx and lock up after you, and then just...stay there a little while. Just to be close to you. Hell, I could walk right in and climb in bed with you, as often as you lock that damn door,” he grumbles, slapping my ass playfully before taking a drink of the beer we share.
“Why do you think I leave it unlocked, Harley?”
His eyes turn hot and stormy, and he pulls me to him, forgetting about the little girl jumping into piles of fallen leaves behind us. His mouth covers mine, soft and sweet, tasting spicy like I always imagined it would. When he pulls away, his rubs his nose against mine and sighs, smiling.
“Keep doing it then,” he rasps, “soon, I won’t be able to stop myself anymore. It won’t be enough to just hear you touching yourself while I stroke my cock. You think about me when you play with your pussy, sweets?” his question and the truth it reveals makes me so wet my panties cling to me.
“Yes,” I whisper, glancing over to the pile of leaves where Binks, Whiskers and Hope chase one another, “you listen to me? Don’t you hear me say your name when I come?”
“Fuck, Hanna,” he growls, huge hand digging into my ass and lifting me against him, “yeah, I thought I heard you once. Do you rub yourself knowing I am standing out there listening? Jerking my cock like a goddam pervert for you.”
“Yeah,” I shoot with a sly smirk, “I thought I heard you once.”
“Knew I was right there listening to you play with your pussy and still you did it...did you do it for me, honey?” he wonders, breathing heavy as he talks dark and low against my mouth.
“Yes,” I almost moan the word and he grunts.
Knowing he was out there—orhopingit was him stalking through my yard or hovering at my window—drove me crazy. I spent days taking him sweets and talking to him dirty without a clue he truly felt the things I was feeling. I thought he might, and he sure ate my sweets and said a few flirty things back, but until he told me about his little girl, I was getting nowhere.
Now I know why he was slow to flirt, why he was cautious with starting something with me. And I believe he feels just as much for me as I do for him. Or at least he’s on his way there. I can wait for him to get here. Being in love with someone is not a race—it doesn't matter who gets there first. If it were a race, I won—I have been in love with him from the start.
“Daddy! Can Hanna go trick-or-treating with us this year?”
“I don’t know, monster,” Harley grins as he answers her but keeps his eyes on me, “not so sure Halloween is her deck of cards.”
“Wrong. She loves it. We already got candy to give out to the kids,” Hope tells him, as if this should be so obvious and she is most certainly not a kid even though she’s asking about going out as one, “it's both our favorites. What will you guys be?” she suddenly shrieks, running up and shoving between the two of us.
“I was thinking...a baker,” I say lamely, flushing as his eyes narrow.
“No, because daddy doesn’t bake,” Hope frowns, her cute little nose turning up, “you have to match, silly. People who kiss always go as one thing,” she says, reaching for Harley to pick her up as I back away slowly.
Since that night he came to watch movies with us, kissing has definitely happened a lot. Hell, we were just kissing while she played. I suddenly think maybe we need to be more careful. He told me she has never seen him with another woman, but that she did get some time with her mother, but she was just a baby. We aren’t even really dating so I don’t want to confuse her. Or get confused myself.
“She could be a baker, I could be a butcher, like Uncle Benji,” he says without looking away from me, his hand pulling me back against them.
“Oh! Jack and Sally! You can be Nightmare Before Christmas!”
“Whatever you want, monster,” he promises, kissing her nose before she wriggles out of his arms and doing a flip to land like a superhero.
Binx comes up barking, his cue for her to run so the fat little pug can chase her again, while Whiskers halfheartedly chases him. I back away, finishing off the beer and grabbing another. For a moment I can’t breathe right and it’s silly. Of course, it’s silly. Who cares about a costume enough to get excited about dressing up?
Except I never got to celebrate Halloween with anyone but the wild sorority girls back at college. Hope got it right—as I have told him and her many times, it is my favorite holiday. We already carved pumpkins and he helped put up tons of blinking purple and orange lights, cobwebs, and skeletons hang all over the place. Clearly, I like to enjoy the festivities.
To be the Sally to his Jack, or the Morticia to his Gomez...it would be so perfect.
“You don’t have to,” I say, turned away so I can’t see him agree that his daughter’s cute idea is just a kid talking silly.
“Whatever you girls want, sweets,” he laments, coming up to wrap his arms around me and bring me back against his chest, “my girls want to go all out for Halloween, then we go all out. Period,” his words grow stronger before he lets go and rounds to face me, cupping my neck in his hands to tip my head back.
“My little monster has never been so happy, Hanna. You let her be herself. You told her that being weird was okay and so now, my weird little girl isso fucking happy. And so, I am. Because you make her happy. But because you makemehappy too. Just wish I hadn’t wasted all summer hiding from this. Pretending. Fucking lying to both of us. I won’t do it again. Won’t go back to how I was—won't go back to being without you.”
