Chapter Twenty-Eight
I can’t say I’m looking forward to it, as I approach Angie and Tim’s house, but I’m here.
I stop in my tracks, feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket. It’s Adam.
‘Hey,’ I answer, smiling even though he can’t see me.
‘Hey, Leah. I’m sorry for rushing out earlier,’ he says. ‘I was… I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight?’
‘Oh, I'd love to, but I’m actually babysitting Angie’s kids tonight,’ I reply. ‘You could join me if you want?’
‘Sounds fun,’ he says with a laugh. ‘Drop me a pin, and I’ll be right over.’
The beauty of living in a small costal town is knowing that you really can get anywhere in five minutes.
I send him my location as I reach Angie and Tim’s front door.
Tim answers, his eyes lighting up in a way that makes me a bit uncomfortable.
‘Leah! Hello,’ he says, leaning in a little too close as he ushers me inside.
‘Hi, Tim,’ I reply, stepping back.
‘You look really beautiful,’ he tells me.
‘Are you practicing, for when Angie comes downstairs?’ I ask with an awkward laugh.
‘Er, yeah,’ he replies. ‘Come this way.’
He leads me to the living room where two young kids are glued to the TV.
‘Here they are,’ he tells me. ‘This is Jake, he’s four, and this is Emily, she’s two.’
‘Hi, Jake and Emily,’ I say cheerfully.
They both glance at me and quickly look back at the TV. Tim sighs.
‘We’ve worked really hard, to teach them not to talk to strangers, and they’re taking it a bit too literally,’ he explains. ‘We’re working on it.’
Before I can respond, Angie comes down the stairs, all dolled up.
‘Hi, Leah! Look who I found at the front door,’ she says, as Adam follows her in.
Adam smiles as he walks in, but Tim’s expression changes. He seems taken aback and a bit flustered.
‘So, uh, remember, this isn’t a date, okay? You’re looking after my kids. Just keep it PG,’ he says awkwardly.
‘We’re not teenagers,’ I point out with a chuckle.
Angie just rolls her eyes.
‘The kids have eaten, and Emily has had her bath, so you just need to get Jake to have one and then you can put them to bed.’
‘Wait, I have to get him to have a bath?’ I check.
‘Yeah, he’s a bit freaked out by baths, but just stick him in there, make sure he doesn’t drown, get him out. Easy. We’ll be back late. Thanks again!’
Angie hooks her arm with Tim’s and drags him out of the door.
‘Erm…’ I start, stopping to laugh.
‘How hard can it be?’ Adam says optimistically.
‘I guess we’ll find out,’ I reply.
‘That was... an experience,’ I say, finally exhaling, after probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
Adam chuckles.
‘You handled it like a pro,’ he tells me. ‘And, don’t worry, the bathroom will dry itself eventually.’
‘I just can’t believe there was so much splashing,’ I say. ‘Like… how does one small boy make so much mess.’
‘When he got hold of the shower head, I knew it was over,’ Adam replies. ‘We look like we’ve fallen in a swimming pool.’
Standing on the landing, we both start peeling off our soaking-wet clothes. I get down to my cropped vest top while Adam strips down to his shirt. Thankfully we’re not too bad from the waist down.
‘I’m sure Angie won’t mind if we throw these in the dryer,’ I tell him.
‘Can we throw you in the dryer?’ he jokes, reaching to push a strand of my soggy hair behind my ear.
As he does our bodies naturally move closer, slowly but surely, until we’re just about touching.
Then the doorbell rings.
‘That’ll be the pizza,’ Adam says, pulling back. ‘I’ll go get it.’
I puff air from my cheeks before heading downstairs after him.
‘Do you want to put a movie on?’ he suggests. ‘I’ll grab some plates.’
‘Okay, sure,’ I call back.
We sit on the sofa, with the pizza on the coffee table next to us, and fire up Netflix.
As we make ourselves comfortable on the sofa I notice our bodies getting closer again, as we sit side by side.
I wonder if he’s doing it on purpose, because I know I am.