Aleah
I was nervous.
It had been more than a couple months since I'd last seen Britney and I was afraid I lost my spot in her list of preferred people.
Judy told me she'd been missing me, but what if she was just lying to get me to actually help her. Or maybe she just had hope I'd be able to keep her under control for an entire three day weekend.
I knew it wasn't easy for most people to reach Britney's soft spot. Ever since Nathan brought a girlfriend over to meet his family and Brit got attached only for the girl to break her brother's heart, she was picky on who she let in.
Since I wasn't someone threatening Nathan's heart, she eventually accepted me. It wasn't easy at first; I had to earn her love and acceptance. She made me promise never to get with her brother, which was not a problem at all. Nathan was like a brother to me.
We had almost every single class together in middle school. The one year we didn't have two classes together, we made sure to change our schedule to make sure it matched again. We were inseparable until it was time for high school. When my dad placed me in a private school he paid way too much money for and Nathan went to public school.
We found our way back when he found me in his mutual friends online and added me.
One day he asked if I could babysit his sister when I told him I had been looking for a job and now here I was. Back at their front door, too nervous to knock.
The door opened without me touching it and Judy ushered me inside as she struggled to put her earrings on. "What are you doing out in the cold, dear. Come on in."
"I just got here," I lied. I had been shaking like a chihuahua and my teeth were still clattering a bit, even as I walked into the warm house.
She gave me a look and I waited for her to say, "I saw you through our doorbell camera. You did not just get here."
My cheeks warmed almost instantly despite how cold my face still was from the fifty degree weather outside. Last time I was here they didn't have one of those cameras. That meant she just saw me standing outside like an idiot for the past ten minutes.
"You remember everything my angel needs or do you need me to remind you, dear?" Her and her husband were rushing to get their luggages ready for their vacation. He was dragging three behind him with a duffle flung over his shoulder out to their car as Judy struggled to throw another bag strap over her tall husband's neck. Eventually she just followed him out with it instead.
I set my stuff down on one of the couches before going over to the last duffle sitting by the door to carry it out to them. Funny thing was I didn't doubt only one of the duffles belonged to her husband. They'd only be gone for three days, but she wanted to be prepared for anything that could happen in those three days. Most of the items would remain unworn but the time she came back.
Brit was nowhere to be seen and I figured she was still sleeping. It was far too early for her to be up yet.
Once they were ready to go, Judy handed me a hundred dollar bill. "She's been asking for pizza a lot so you can use this to buy it." I nodded as she closed my fingers around the bill. She beamed at me and pet my hair like a mother would her child. "I'm so glad you're able to look after my baby again. She's really been missing you. And so have I."
"Had to take some time to myself, I'm sorry."
She waved me off, fixing the bun on her head. "No need to apologize, I know life happens, dear." With a sigh, she felt around her pockets as if to make sure she had everything and smiled at me. "I think it's time we start to leave now. Will you be okay?"
I nodded. "Yes, we'll be fine."
Kissing each other's cheeks goodbye, she walked out the door and I locked it before going back over to the couch to grab my stuff. Judy always prepared their guest bedroom for me when I had to stay an entire weekend, so that's where I took my bags. Just so that they wouldn't just be laying on the couch, looking like unwanted clutter.
• • •
Britney and I were each eating a slice of the pizza she asked me to order as soon as she woke up when Nathan walked past the kitchen to open the front door.
"Hey, man," he greeted what I figured was one of his friends. "Another one, really?"
As if knowing who was at the door, Brit dropped her slice on her plate and jumped down from her chair, running over to greet them. "Sebby!"
"Hi, Brit! Look!"
I heard Britney gasp and giggle in pure joy. "A blue one! Thank you!"
I continued to eat my slice as I threw my leg over the other and pulled out my phone to check my messages. Without much surprise, most of the twenty notifications were of my dad, questioning why the hell I needed to stay at someone's house for an entire weekend. And of course he had to send every word in a separate message.
Not having the energy to deal with him, I swiped the messages away and focused on the rest. A few were of people inviting me to parties this weekend. Parties I wouldn't be able to attend anyway. I had responsibilities.
Footsteps walked towards the kitchen and I looked up to see who the guest for today was. When I saw the same guy that let me sleep in his bed a few weeks ago after a night of too much drinking, I suddenly felt like I was underdressed. With my oversized black sweater that hung off one of my shoulders to show the strap of my pink bralette underneath and the biker shorts under.
Meanwhile, he looked like he came back from modeling. It was a simple outfit consisting of a black long sleeved v-neck and dark washed jeans but he rocked them better than anyone I'd seen. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows to show off his veiny forearms and I cursed myself for checking out one on Nathan's friends in his own home.
When his eyes landed on me, he stopped in his tracks for a bit. It felt like he was looking right into my soul as he kept his gaze on me for a little more than a minute.
Nathan chuckled, knocking Sebastian out of his trance and making him drop his eyes. Seemed like his shoes suddenly became a lot more interesting to him. I smiled to myself, covering my mouth with a hand as I pretended to chew the bite of pizza I had already swallowed. "Yes, you guys know each other. You'll be seeing more of each other now that Aleah is Brit's permanent nanny again."
Sebastian nodded and lifted a hand to wave at me. He barely managed to make eye contact again. "Good to see you again, Aleah."
I waved back, swiping my tongue across my teeth to make sure I didn't have any pizza stuck before smiling. "Likewise, Sebastian."
"Look, Aleah!" Britney ran up to me to show me a blue teddy in her arms. "I got another one!"
"Another one, huh?" I looked up at the guys so they could catch me up on what another one meant. When she lifted it up for me to touch, I did as told and hummed in approval. "That might be the softest teddy I've ever felt."
"They all are soft."
"I take it you haven't been up to her room?" Nathan asked me and I shook my head without really processing the question, giving a brief look at my phone when I got yet another text from my dad. I ignored that one as well.
"Her room? What about it?"
Nathan nodded at his friend beside him and shook his head. "This one is the reason she has all those teddies on her bed."
I laughed as I looked up at him. "Every single one of them?"
"Yup."
Britney walked back over to Sebastian and hugged his long legs, beaming up at him. It seemed like he was also in her list of preferred people. That only made him much more attractive than he already was physically.
Men who were good with kids were top tier.
"Sebby is gonna get me the whole rainbow, Aleah."
My phone lit up with a call and I held back a groan when I saw my dad's picture on my screen. Shooting the guys an apologetic smile, I got up from my chair. "Sorry, I gotta take this."