I promise myself again that once I’m getting a regular wage, I’ll start paying more than just my share of things around here.
Seeing Dad work so hard for not a lot makes me think about what he just said.
Dad works just as hard as Jase or his Dad. So why don’t we have a life like that?
Why does someone who works three jobs still struggle?
Well, not anymore he won’t. Neither of us will from now on. I’ll make sure of it.
Feeling exhausted and excited at the same time, I turn in early. Unable to shake off not just the feelings I have for Michael Hart but also the strange, almost satisfying feeling that he’s probably thinking about what happened as much as I am.
Even earlier today, once Jase and I left the house, it was as though he was watching over us both somehow.
Maybe I’m just overtired, and at least I have all day tomorrow to psych myself up for my first day at work.
I sleep right through, late even for me. And by the time I do get up, Dad’s been and come home from his shift. He’s catching Z’s on the couch, so I make sure and keep my noise down as I come to terms with life as an employee.
I’ve missed some more texts from Jase, but he sounds busy enough with his trip, and by the time I’ve scrolled through them all over a late breakfast, he’s in the airplane and on his way to his own assignment.
We text for a bit, but I can sense when he’s busy with his work, and I leave him to it – making him promise to give me up-to-the-minute updates.
Same.
He texts back.
I wanna know all the juicy gossip on your first day tomorrow.
The rest of the day is a blur of me trying on and even tearing a few seams of outfits that I try on, one after the other.
Any other job, and I’d settle for what I wore at the interview.
Everything I picked in the store and everything I’m going through now isn’t for me anymore. I need to pre-plan outfits just for Michael.
I feel like such a dummy acting the way I did if it was just an innocent but awkward moment.
But there’s still that new part of me that hopes he got excited because of me. It’s a crazy dream, but a girl’s allowed to dream.
That if a man like Michael Hart could even…well. I’m sure there’ll be plenty to keep my mind above my panty line tomorrow.
Feeling better about everything, I do my best to thaw a chicken and make Dad and me a roast dinner for when he gets home.
I’m not the greatest home cook, but it’s all I can think of to start showing Dad I’ll be doing more around the place.
By the time it’s almost done, I’ve cleaned up the kitchen and the whole house. I realize I’m running on sheer nervous excitement.
Helping around the house? Yes.
Obsessing over Michael Hart and what I saw, then felt, in his office?
Abso-freaking-lutely.
Emptying the vacuum bag into the trash outside, I can’t help but notice the dark truck parked a few houses up.
Most people on our street drive jalopies, so it always makes me wonder when I spot a fancy car or truck like that.
The windows are tinted, and it’s getting dark, so I can’t really see much.
I try to tell myself to mind my own business, but I can’t help but feel it again. That sensation of being watched. But in a good way. It’s like having my own private guardian angel or something.
Weird.
Probably it’s because I feel safer with myself now, knowing that Dad and I have better times ahead.
But dammit, if I can’t get the image of Michael’s stiff cock under his jeans out of my head.
I’m almost relieved when Dad calls, telling me he’ll be late and not to wait up.
I don’t mention the dinner. I’ll leave him a note with a plate for him in the oven for when he gets home.
I’m relieved, too, because when I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror as I pass, I can’t help but see how crazy I look.
Crazy like a girl with just one thing on her mind and a burning need somewhere else.
And none of it’s as wholesome as a badly prepared roast dinner with my Dad.
A hot bath as a treat for me, and another early night is in the cards once I eat some of what I’ve made and tidy up the kitchen some more.
Thinking about tomorrow has always been a bad habit, but for once, it’s an exciting thing for me now. Knowing that I’ve got the job, I’ve got the support of my friend and family. But most of all, I feel like I’ve got something else waiting for me somewhere.