AN: Cleaning this stuff up thanks to my wondeful beta and friend lisa89.
Penname: ericastwilight
Original or Derivative (fanfiction): derivative
Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): M for language
Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
Prompt: Finish the phrase "The cat is out of the ________."
"Hey, Eddie," Emmett, my brother, called from the kitchen.
"Yeah," I answered, placing the last placemat for Alyssa, my five-year-old daughter, on the small round table.
Alyssa's mother, Jennifer, and I had had a brief fling years ago. Our relationship had ended just as quickly as it had started. Neither of us had been prepared for parenthood, least of all Jennifer.
So, when Jennifer had showed up with a full diaper bag and Alyssa in tow, it had been shocking. Jennifer had given birth only four months before, and she'd been unable to cope with motherhood. She'd left Alyssa in my care, and I hadn't seen her since.
Good fucking riddance.
The moment Jennifer had laid Alyssa in my arms I'd known she was mine, she'd felt like she belonged with me. There was little doubt with the tiny soft curls of reddish brown hair on the top of her head. She had yawned, her tiny hands reaching out to stretch. Her eyes had opened briefly, but long enough for me to see that my sweet angel had my eyes. Thankfully, she had little resemblance to her reluctant mother.
Emmett had been living with me at the time, to help curb expenses while I finished grad school. He'd taken on the role of uncle surprisingly easy and helped me out considerably those first few years when Alyssa had entered our lives.
Both Emmett and I had lost our parents in a car accident about ten years ago, and there had been no other living relatives. It had been just the three of us for a long time now. Sundays were reserved for family lunches. Emmett had recently moved out, but our Sunday tradition had remained.
I turned to grab the napkin holder when I stepped on Precious's cat toy. I cursed, since now I had ruined it, and because Alyssa knew better.
I shook my head as Emmett whistled from the kitchen. It was his turn to cook, and he'd banned me from the kitchen about twenty minutes ago. Luckily for us, nothing smelled like it was burning – yet.
"Damn, little bro. No wonder you love this neighborhood so much and didn't want to move."
I rolled my eyes, wondering what he was talking about.
"She must jog everyday to have an ass like that."
Ponytail girl.
That was the only person I could think of who would elicit a reaction like that.
Tanya Greene, lived three doors down, big breasts but no ass. Lauren Pullman, lived across the street, implants and also no ass. Both were married, and both had already made passes at me. I had no interest in women that were technically unavailable and who threw themselves at me.
Plus, I was an ass man.
I also had a little girl to consider. Though I had lived a typical male bachelor lifestyle before Alyssa had come into my life, I hadn't regretted my less promiscuous ways since. I dated from time to time, and Alyssa had met a few, but she'd never clicked with anyone. Frankly, neither had I.
Emmett let out a whistle again, snapping me from my thoughts. I was at my kitchen window in seconds. It was pathetic, really, but I didn't care. And yes, it was her, across the street, looking all the more delectable, as she always did. She was even dressed in the outfit I had first seen her in.
Ponytail Girl had been jogging in my neighborhood for the past two months. The first time I had seen her, I'd been watering a patch of my lawn that the sprinklers never reached.
I had seen her running down the adjacent sidewalk, and I had done a double-take. I hadn't been able to keep my eyes off her. God, she was gorgeous.
Her long dark hair had been up in a high ponytail, the ends reaching the middle of her back.
I really loved long hair.
Her skin was naturally luminous. The pale expanse of her neck looked inviting – to nibble on. She had been dressed in small shorts and a fitted white tank top. She'd had an iPod strapped to one arm and a water bottle strapped to her thigh.
She had seemed to have a great stride, periodically checking her pulse. She had crossed the street and started jogging down my side of the road. She had suddenly stumbled on the sidewalk in front of my house. My first instinct had been to help her, but she'd caught herself quickly. She had looked around, clearly embarrassed, grumbling under her breath. She had bent over to dust her knees off.
I'd had to bite my knuckles to stop from groaning out loud at the sight of her ass. Thank God I had been obscured by my hedges, or else I would've had to explain my ogling and the fact that I was sporting a monster erection.
Since then, she'd jog past Monday through Friday at six-fifteen in the evenings, and on Saturdays and Sundays at eight in the morning.
She hadn't made an appearance this morning; trust me, I had waited. I watched with bated breath as she crossed the street further down the block. She lifted her hand to tighten the band in her hair, shaking her head a bit.
Fuck.
"Have you talked to her?" Emmett asked.
I shook my head. "What am I supposed to say?"
"Do you know if she lives around here?" I felt my cheeks coloring a bit. Fuck. Emmett, of course, noticed. "Fess up, bro."
I shrugged my shoulders and confessed that Alyssa and I had been driving to the market when Ponytail Girl had happened to jog into a house two blocks over. Of course, I omitted that I had basically waited until she'd started jogging out of our neighborhood to leave my house.
Emmett laughed, clasping my shoulder. "Go out there and talk to her."
I shook my head again. "And say what? 'Sorry, but I've been obsessed with watching you jog. Did you know you had a bite-worthy ass?'"
Emmett grinned and nodded as if in agreement. He looked back at my Ponytail Girl, staring. "It is bite worthy, isn't it?"
I growled and the fucker laughed harder. "Fuck, Eddie. You are hard up for the little lady. Just go for it."
"I can't," I said in a defeated tone.
"Why the fuck not?"
"She's out of my league, Em," I stated. "She lives in the Richmond Estates and owns a fucking Porsche."
Emmett whistled again. "Still, doesn't hurt to at least talk to her."
I rolled my eyes, grabbing drinks from the nearby fridge.
"Daddy!" Alyssa screeched. I ran into the hallway to see my daughter running after Precious, her cat. She'd had the orange tabby since she was just three years old. There was a knock at the front door, and I called out for Emmett to grab it.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
"She won't let me put on her collar," Alyssa said hysterically.
"Honey, you know she doesn't like those things."
"But –" Alyssa screamed again as Precious bypassed her, running toward the front door.
Precious was strictly a house cat and had never ventured outside, besides our enclosed backyard. There was the one time she had escaped while I'd grabbed the newspaper. It had taken us hours to find her.
"Daddy!" Alyssa cried out. "The cat is out the door!" Alyssa ran past me, almost barreling right over me. I stumbled against the wall, onto the floor, but I called out for my daughter.
"Ooff," Emmett grunted. "Squirt! Wait!"
Then I heard the most horrific combination of sounds – Alyssa screaming and the screech of tires on asphalt.
"Fuck!" I heard Emmett hiss as we both scrambled through my front yard. I had little time to process everything, but I could see that Tanya was mildly shocked near the front door, Lauren was poking her head out of her front door, and my little girl was clutching her arm on the other side of the street.
Laying on the asphalt, a few feet in front of blue sports car, was Ponytail Girl. "Jesus!" Emmett said loudly. "She pushed Alyssa out of the way."
I could see that Alyssa was more frightened than hurt as she crawled toward Ponytail Girl. "Check Alyssa out," I said to Emmett. I ran toward the woman as he went over to a wailing Alyssa.
"She's fine, Edward. She only has a scratch."
"Daddy, is she okay?" Alyssa asked, biting her lip nervously. I could see the worry etched on my daughter's face as looked upon the woman that had saved her. I held up my hand, silently telling Emmett to keep Alyssa back.
I knelt beside the woman as she groaned out loud. Thank God. "Shit," the man that had hit her said, kneeling beside me, "I didn't see her or the kid until it was too late."
I shook my head and ran my hands over Ponytail Girl's head. "Hey, can you hear me?" I asked, looking for visible bodily injuries.
Her long dark lashes fluttered on the apples of her cheeks. She moaned, grimacing as she tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids raised slowly; anticipation to see her eyes coursed through me.
When her eyes finally met mine, I couldn't help but smile broadly. She was exquisite.
"She's awake, Uncle Emmy," Alyssa said cheerfully, clapping.
Ponytail Girl gave me a smile that matched my own, her lips plump and beautiful. "Not exactly how I wanted to meet you," she said quietly.
My smile widened further. Me neither, Ponytail Girl.
AN: Please review.
