Obsession

Feelings

I spent Monday morning as usual. I went to my morning class and then headed to the local coffee spot to get coffee and a bagel. I waited for Kim, Melody, and Liam. We sat and had breakfast together while discussing our progress so far in school. After my mid-morning class, it was time to go to Mr. Richards's house. I let myself in and noticed no one was around so I walked over to Lily's room. Mr. Richards was sitting in a rocking chair holding Lily while she slept. I didn't want to wake them up so I slipped away and went to go make some coffee. Twenty minutes later, Mr. Richards stepped into the kitchen.

"That smells nice," he said.

"Want some?" I asked.

"Yes please," he answered. "Lily couldn't sleep and was up crying half the night."

"Is she sick? I asked.

"No, she has no fever or anything," he said.

"Oh, poor girl," I said. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her." I handed him a cup of coffee and he sipped it slowly.

"She is out now so let her rest and maybe she will feel better when she wakes up," he said. I nodded and handed him his newspaper.

"Thank you," he said as he took it from my hands. "I'll be working late today if you don't mind staying a bit longer then usual."

"Not at all," I said.

"Perfect," he smiled. He then stood up and headed for his bedroom. I took his mug and washed it. A few minutes later I heard Lily fuss so I went to go check on her. She was stirring in her sleep so I wrapped a blanket around her and took the baby monitor with me so I could hear her better. I was focusing on turning it on that I didn't notice a semi-naked Mr. Richards standing in front of me. Wrapped in a towel and dripping wet from head to toe. I coughed lightly.

"I thou..ght I heard Lily fussing," I stuttered. I was shocked and delighted all at the same time. Mr. Richards had an amazing body. Lean, toned, and muscular. I knew he went jogging, hiking, and had a home gym but damn that body was incredible. I could only imagine what the parts I couldn't see looked like. My mind wandered and thought they had to be just as incredible. He looked amused and I immediately left to go back to the living room and he went back into his room. Around five minutes later, Mr. Richards came out fully dressed in his white button-up shirt and tie along with his black suit pants. He looked just as handsome as always.

"Have a good day Sky," he said as he walked out the front door. I just waved as I was too embarrassed to look him in the eye and too nervous to even know what to say. As soon as he was gone I took out my laptop and studied for about an hour before Lily finally woke up. I went to go pick her up and bring her to the living room.

"You hungry baby girl," I said to Lily. She, of course, didn't answer me. I went to go get her some breakfast and fed her. After breakfast, I gave her a bath and played with her for a bit. She still seemed out of it since she was less playful and happy like she normally is. She still didn't have a fever or any other signs of any type of sickness. I made her some soup and gave her some apple juice for dinner. We had a normal day and Mr. Richards still hadn't come home and it was seven already. Lily was a bit fussy while trying to go to sleep so I sang to her and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

    I don't know what time it was but I had dozed off on the couch. I felt a hand brush against my cheek. I started to open my eyes but I was so sleepy.

"Hello, Mr. Richards, I'll head home now," I told him.

"No, please sleep in the guest room tonight," he said. "You're exhausted." I couldn't even argue with him. My eyes couldn't stay open for long and I was yawning every other second. I felt his strong arms wrap around my body. He lifted me up and carried me to the guest bedroom. I didn't mean to curl up into his embrace but he felt warm and I was very tired. I laid my head on his chest and with my eyes barely open I couldn't tell if he had smiled or not. I didn't notice when he placed me on the bed but I woke up and was feeling like I had the best sleep of my life. I mean his bed was far from comfortable than mine. I didn't have any morning class but I didn't feel okay being here so early. I walked into the kitchen and noticed Mr. Richards making coffee. He was wearing grey sweats and no shirt. I almost lost all the air in my lungs and choked on my own saliva.

"Hey good morning,"  he said.

"Hi," I replied.

"Coffee," he asked.

"Yes, please," I said. He handed me a cup and I sipped it slowly.

"You can take a shower and I'll get you a shirt and some pants," he said.

"Thanks, I know Liam is coming over later so I'll ask him to bring me some clothes," I told him. Mr. Richards held a small scowl on his face but quickly turned around to get a pan out of the cabinets behind him.

"Do you live with Liam?" he asked. I knew Mr. Richards knew a lot about me but I only ever told him I lived with my friends in an apartment close to the campus. I never told them if they were male or female. Maybe for someone older living with a guy was a bad thing.

"No, I live with my friends Kim and Melody but as you know Liam is my childhood friend and he goes to the same college as me and lives pretty close," I told him. "I think it's funny how he even works next to me and everything."

"Yeah, that's .." He couldn't finish his sentence. He sounded a bit agitated but I didn't know why. "He is lucky to have you with him especially after all this time." 

"I guess I'm lucky too," I said. "He is a good friend." As I said the word friend I realized I still had a small crush on him but what was the point. Like Mr. Richards said we have been friends for a long time and yet nothing so I should be lucky we are still friends and let all other thoughts go. I headed off to the shower with the pair of clothes that Mr. Richards got for me. The water felt nice especially coming out of this fancy shower head he had. Man, he was rich. His house was simple from the outside but little things like this made his house different from the others in the neighborhood. His style was also simple but chic. Everything was black, white or grey but everything was fancy.

 After my shower, I got dressed. I didn't want to wear my underwear but felt weird to be without it. I just put on the black joggers he gave me. I tighten them the most I could and then put on the black shirt he gave me. I tied it a bit on the side but not too tight because I wasn't wearing a bra and didn't want to make it so obvious. I walked back to the living room and sat on the couch with my laptop.

"I'm guessing Lily won't be up for another hour so I'll stay here working on some assignments," I said.

"No problem," he said as he continued to make eggs and bacon. As soon as it was ready he placed a second plate on the counter and I quickly got up to take a seat on the stool. Before I made it to the stool I noticed Mr. Richards looking at me from head to toe. I felt awkward and bad for choosing not to wear underwear.

"s**t HE NOTICED," I thought to myself. I cleared my throat and sat down.

"Smells good," I said.

"Hope it taste just as good," he laughed. He had a subtle sweet laugh that I hardly ever heard. We ate together and talked about his work and my studies, Lily of course. It was nice and I hardly spent time with just him but it was something that made me feel. I wasn't sure what but these feelings were confusing. Maybe it was just me being grateful I had a nice boss and a great job, a great kid and it paid well. Sitting here with him, laughing and smiling, somehow I knew that he had some type of feelings too.