Babysitting the Player

Chapter 9

"I might lose a finger." He laughs.

"Then maybe you should hurry up and finish with my flowers so we can get to the fun part."

He shakes his head and I'm sure he's got a smirk on his face.

The last few stems are cut and the flowers are placed in the vase. Johnny dumps the packet of flower food in as I pour in some more water. He discards of the plastic the bouquet was wrapped in and grabs my hand.

I stand back and admire the vibrant roses. The bright red petals compliment the bold green stems and I hug Johnny.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a laugh.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making it right when you fucked up."

"Don't get used to it."

I wasn't planning on it.

I roll my eyes and kiss him.

"Hey," he says. "I love you."

"I love you too."

His hands grab my ass and I'm certain he's forgotten all about his intention of taking me out on a date today. We kiss for a few more moments before he lifts me onto the countertop. I lay my right hand on the back of his neck as his fingers pull on the fabric of my black tank top and he yanks it over my head just before he freezes.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I think I heard a car door."

And as soon as the words leave his lips, the front door opens.

"Fuck," I whisper. I rush to turn my shirt right side out while Johnny fixes my shorts that I hadn't realized he unbuttoned. The fabric of my tank top barely covers my skin as I hop down from the counter just in time.

"Hey, guys." Mom smiles from behind her collection of shopping bags.

"Hi," Johnny says.

"Where's Grandma?" I ask.

"She's outside talking to Grandma Peggy."

"And she left you with the bags?" I laugh.

"Typical Grandma." She rolls her eyes.

"What are they talking about?" I ask.

"So nosy." Johnny laughs.

"Isn't she always?" Mom agrees. "Your grandma wants to seal the driveway and Grandma Peggy just had hers done so she's asking her who she used for hers."

"And I'm the nosy one." I laugh.

The front door opens again and Grandma comes into my view.

"Did you get the name of the company?" Mom asks.

"Oh, we're not using them. She said they had to come back a second time because they messed it up the first. Kids today, you guys are so stupid you wouldn't know your ass from a hole in the ground." Grandma shakes her head.

I want to laugh at her word choice but I hold it in so I don't piss her off even further. Johnny, apparently, doesn't get the memo.

"Hey, you're included in that group." Grandma points at him.

"At least I'm a stupid kid and not an old person starting to lose it." He shrugs.

"Johnny!" I whack his arm.

"You better watch it, kid." She warns.

"Why don't the two of you go do something fun? Out of the house." Mom suggests.