9
1172 Words
Finch
This was such a bad idea. The moment she walked out of her apartment building, I had to remind myself she was off limits. I shouldn't have offered to spend more time with her than I had to while driving her to and from work. I am way more physically attracted to her than I initially thought. I needed to find a flaw, something I could use to convince myself I didn't like this woman. But first, I had to talk to her, and for the first time in a long time, I found myself to be nervous. The last time I remember feeling like this was before I asked Hanna out for the first time. I was so nervous. My hands were sweating, and everything was wrong. I had to discreetly remove one at a time from the steering wheel so that I could whip them off on my pants. All the while, my brain jumped from topic to topic, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound stupid. The silence dragged on as I drove until about halfway to the store I decided to go to, which was a good fifteen minutes from her apartment.
Clearing her throat, Petal turned in her seat, looking back at Anna.
"Anna, your outfit is really cute. Did your daddy help you pick it out?"
Looking up from her tablet, my baby girl gave the first genuine smile since Petal got in the car. Oh yeah, her smile after their introductions didn't fool me. She said she was nice, but I am sure she wasn't completely, especially if I know my daughter as much as I think I do.
"No, Aunty Em did."
"Oh, did she also help you with your hair?"
Nodding, Anna giggled.
"Daddy is not good at hair."
Sighing, I shook my head.
"I do alright."
Anna laughed harder, making Petal laugh a little while she turned in her seat, giving me a large smile.
That was the start of the two girls talking and laughing for the duration of our shopping trip. By the end of our trip, I was even more worried about Anna growing attached to a woman I was not sure I would be able to keep in my life as only a friend. The more I watched Petal with my little girl, the more attracted I was to her. And the more I had to remind myself she was off-limits.
By the time we pulled back into Petal's apartment complex parking lot, I didn't want her to go. The day had been spent with laughter and so much fun. Given that some of it was at my expense due to my daughter, I was okay with it. If it meant she had a good time, I would suck it up. Over the next couple of days, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about her. So much so that by Friday after noon, when I made my way over to drop Anna off with my parents, Petal was nearly all I thought about.
Walking Anna into my parents' house, I found my dad in the kitchen, who was already prepping dinner for the night. It wasn't unusual for my father to be the one cooking. Not that my mom was a bad cook. But it was just how things were. My dad learned from my grandpa how to cook, and both were amazing cooks. My father has done his best to teach Emilia and me everything he knows, and I do well, but Emilia has more of a love for cooking than I do. And like when I was a kid, Anna loves to sit in and watch my dad cook, so smelling the already cooking food, we didn't have to look far for anyone once we walked inside my parent's house.
Anna ran in, running over to my dad, instantly begging to help him. Something he would never tell her no to. Instead, he stopped what he was doing to take her over to the sink to help her wash her hands. While he helped her with that, I grabbed the stool that was kept in the kitchen and used it so she would be able to see the counter. It was also used by my mother to be able to reach things up high when my father wasn't around, but she hated it when people mentioned the fact she needed it ever. Once the stool was in place I moved round the other side of the counter and took a seat on one of the stools to watch for a couple of minutes before I had to head out.
The whole time, Anna talked my dad's ear off. Their conversation did not fully register until they were back over where my dad left the food he was working on prepping. The subject matter was Petal and how Anna thought she was funny and hopped I would ask her to go shopping with us again. The conversation had my dad watching me while he continued to talk with my daughter. The look on his face was blank, and I knew he had questions. Ones I was going to have to answer before leaving for the night. Ones I knew were coming when my dad sent Anna out of the room as soon as he had the last of the vegetables chopped up and in a bowl. Anna helped move the chopped-up veggies to the bowl.
"Is giving this girl a ride going to be a problem?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"Are you sure? Emilia said you didn't come home the other night until a few hours later. It should have only taken a few extra minutes to get her home. And then you took her out with Anna?"
Sighing, I shook my head. Emilia is such a gossiper.
"When I got Petal back to her place the other night, a guy from the club was there watching her. I stayed and made sure the guy left and would leave her alone. As far as the shopping trip, I offered to take her to the store so she didn't have to wait and could stock up on things to hold her over until she got her car back. That's it."
Slowly nodding, my father gave me a skeptical look.
"That better be all. Jax won't care that you are family. You will be held to the same standards as everyone else."
Sighing, I stood up.
"I know the rules….I got to get going. I will see you guys on Sunday."
Turning, I headed out, not waiting for my dad to answer. Stopping in the front room, I hugged Anna goodbye and told her to be good and that I would see her on Sunday. Though she didn't seem to really care, I was leaving. She loved spending the weekend with her grandparents, and I pretty much became chopped liver once she was here. My guess was that she spent the weekend getting spoiled.
- Writer
