LISA
The sun crept in across my face, warming my skin. Opening my eyes, the room was still blurred out and fuzzy.
Rubbing my eyes, I opened them again, and complete surprise hit me. Standing beside the bed was the small face of a little girl, peering down on me with a large, open gaze.
"Hi," she said, hugging a little brown, but very ragged looking, teddy bear.
"Hello." Smiling, I pressed up into the pillow. I wasn't sure what to say to this girl, but I knew who she was.
Ella, Jennie's daughter. Her round face and brown hair resembled her mother's. The feline cat eye shape were so similar to Jennie. But, I could also see the face of her father.
After studying the picture the night before, her green eyes were distinct and the dimples were a sheer carbon copy.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice high and soft at the same time.
Scanning her face, her brows scrunched with curiosity. "Um, who am I. . ." Quickly, I tugged the blankets higher up my chest, shifting with an awkward snap. It had hit me right then that I was completely naked under the blankets, and my clothes were crumpled up in the corner of the room behind Ella. "Well, I'm uh. . . I'm the mattress guy. I just came to make sure there wasn't a problem with your Mom's." Bouncing softly on the bed, the mattress squeaked under my weight. "Yup, it seems to be working good."
"But it has a squeak, you didn't fix the squeak." The small child poked the mattress, cuddling the bear under one arm.
"Yeah, that's my next job, to fix the squeak." My nerves were on edge, wishing that Jennie would wake up and save me from digging myself deeper in this hole.
"Hey, you want to see what I can do?" Her lips spread, eyes eager for me to say yes.
"Yes, yes I do." Nodding my head, I folded my arms over my chest.
Jennie, wake up. You can get up now.
Holding still, the little girl with huge fluffy curls, lifted her head back, and crossed her eyes, looking down the bridge of her nose at me. "Did you see it?"
"See what?"
"Ugh, watch again." Her head fell back a second time, crossing her eyes.
"Oh, oh yeah, wow. That was really cool, how did you learn to do that?"
"Mommy says I got talent." Her hand fell to her hip, head tilting to the side.
Oh lord, she's a spitting image of her mom. Chuckling at the sight, Ella squinted her eyes.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. I just didn't know a girl your age could ever cross her eyes so good."
She seemed satisfied with my answer, jumping up and down in place, and smiling. "So, mattress woman, you want to see my room? Maybe you can fix my mattress too, I hate it."
"You do? And why's that?"
"Because one time, our cat, Mr. Jingles, threw up on it. And it was so gross!" Her small foot stomped the ground, the teddy bear jostling side to side. By the condition of that bear, I was surprised it even had limbs left.
"Well that's easy to fix," I said, waving a hand in the air.
"Can you fix it?" Her hands came together, tightly clasped in a closed fist. Pushing out her lower lip, she looked like she was pleading for me to make it better.
How do I say no to that face?
"Okay, give me two minutes, and I'll come take a look."
Her toes twirled in the carpet, arms flailing up and down like she was trying to lift off and fly. "Thank you! Thank you!" she spat, turning and skipping off down the hall.
Swiftly, I jumped out of the bed, scrambling to tug my clothes on. Glancing at Jennie, she was sleeping soundly, her face glowing under the beam of sun raining down.
I couldn't wake her up, she just looked too beautiful, like a sleeping angel under the ray of pure exhaustion.
Yeah, I did that.
"Mattress woman, I'm in here!" The tiny voice echoed down the quiet hall.
Following her voice, I made my way to a door that had several wooden flowers secured on the outside. A large 'E' was resting in the middle and sparkling with gems. "Wow, your room is very pretty," I said, leaning in the doorway.
"Thank you, Mommy says she wishes she had a room like this when she was little. But Grandma says she's just being dramatic, and that her room was just as nice."
Angling my head, I scrunched my lips, and bent my brows. "Oh really?"
"Yup, but Mommy says Grandma is just old, and that her mind might be going." Spinning a finger by her temple, her eyes rolled in the sockets as her head rocked from side to side.
Huh, who knew kids could be so funny.
Chuckling, I said, "Well, sometimes that happens." I watched the small girl prance around the room, pointing out each and every object.
"This is my dresser, this is my tea set, do you like tea?" Her frail fingers gripped a miniature cup, no larger than an a quarter measuring cup, and held it up with her pinkie out.
"That depends, what type of tea is it?"
Ella's head snapped up, staring at me like I was growing four new heads of my own. "Ms. Mattress Woman, it's only pretend tea, so it can be any kind you want." Shaking her head, a mess of curls bounced around her face. "You guys are so complicated."
Laughing, I crouched down to her height. "Well, since you put it like that, then yes, I love tea."
"Maybe one day you can come over for a tea party, would you?" Ella's already large green eyes twinkled with excited pops.
"I would love to come over for a tea party." Smiling, I plucked the corner of her pajamas at the shoulder.
"When do you want to come over for one?" Her feet narrowed, toes digging into the carpet as she jumped with petite hops.
"How about two days from the last day of the month?"
"Sounds perfect! Can you fix my bed now?" Lifting the sheet, Ella pointed at a small circular, orange stain. "This is it," she said, cupping her hand at the corner of her mouth. "And if I put my nose really close, it smells like Mr. Jingles' butt." Her small face scrunched tight, eyes closing as she shook her head and stuck her tongue out.
It boggled my mind how rapidly a child's attention could shoot from one thing to the next. It was like her brain skipped between moments, sparks igniting in different thought bubbles, illuminating her next move.
Thinking hard, I remembered an old remedy I had learned years ago for smells. "Can you show me your kitchen?"
"Follow me, mattress woman." Her feet skipped across the floor, carrying her down the hall.
Shuffling through the cabinets, I found everything I needed. Green tea, brown sugar, lemon, baking soda, and warm water. Mixing the ingredients in a glass bowl Ella grabbed from a lower cupboard, she shuffled through a drawer and found me a rag.
I guess not all of foster care was a complete waste.
At least I got something out of it, even if the star accomplishment was learning to get rid of odors.
Her tender laugh was adorable, and the questions she had just kept coming the entire time I mixed the stuff together. I even gave up control to let her spoon mix them herself, because she assured me that she was old enough to stir.
"Is this really going to work?" Ella asked, smelling the sweet liquid.
"It sure is, a woman I knew a long time ago taught me this."
"Wow, is she old now like my Grandma?"
"Well," I said, arching a brow. "I'm not sure, how old is your Grandma?"
Tapping her chin she said, "Mommy is twenty-five, and I'm five, so who knows how old Grandma is. But she's old, she has tiny lines over her eyebrows that make her look angry all the time, but she's nice, she's not angry all the time."
"Oh, well that's good." Walking back to her bedroom, I bent down next to the small mattress. Ringing out the rag, I scrubbed the discolored patch. "There, it should be all better when it dries."
"Really? That's it?"
"Yup, that's it."
"Wow, Mommy scrubbed that spot for me for days." Her head fell back, eyes rolling around in her skull.
"Days?" I asked.
"Yup, maybe even months. I don't know for sure, because I'm only five, but it was a long time."
My lips sealed tight, chin bouncing in agreement. "I'm sure she did her best."
"Mm, mm." A soft crackle of a cough came from the doorway. Whipping my head over my shoulders, Ella jumped in place, spinning around.
"Mommy, look! The mattress woman fixed my bed!" Her slender finger pointed at the wet spot on her mattress.
"She did? Wow, that was very nice of the mattress woman?" Tilting her head, Jennie smiled with curiosity.
Standing, I tucked the damp rag in my belt loop. "Yes, Ma'am. My work here is done, you ladies can now sleep like the princess and the pea."
"The princess and the pea? You do realize she couldn't sleep because there was a pea buried under a stack of mattresses?"
Shrugging my shoulders, I grinned. "Okay, you guys can sleep like Snow White."
Ella cocked her head up, wrinkling her brows. "She had a poison apple."
"Alright, you caught me, I'm not up to date on my princesses." Holding my arms out, Jennie giggled.
I couldn't ignore how gorgeous she looked right then. Her hair was tousled and poking out in several different directions. There was a light hue to her face that shined and covered her skin like golden honey.
Jennie had so much natural beauty it took my breath away.
"Ella, Honey, why don't you go put on cartoons and I'll make you breakfast in a few minutes." Watching her daughter leave, Jennie asked with a tight smile, "Is the mattress woman hungry too?"
"Yes, she is. All that fixing of the beds has really brought on some hunger. I could definitely eat."
The sound of singing and simulated laughter worked its way into the kitchen. Jennie eyed the small mess that Ella and I had made during our odor removal. "So is this the result of a mattress defunk?"
"Yeah, sorry. Your daughter, who is adorable by the way, insisted on helping. She was pretty good at stirring too, aside from the occasional splash." Stepping to the sink, I turned on the water, and grabbed the sponge.
"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head a hair.
"I'm cleaning up the mess. You didn't expect me to just leave it for you, did you?"
Jennie's brows lifted, eyes searching the ceiling. "Well, I didn't expect you to clean it up." Bridging the gap between us, her palms gripped the edge of the counter as she leaned back. "Thank you."
Sending her a confused look, I soaped up the sponge and started washing the bowl I used. "For what?"
"For helping Ella. I could tell she was really happy about the whole mattress thing. And trust me, I did everything I could think of to clean that spot. I'm going to need your recipe."
"Uh, uh, uh," I said, tisking her lightly. "It's a family secret."
"That's alright, Ella will remember the stuff you used, I'll figure out the rest myself." Rolling her head, Jennie grinned, baring her bright white teeth.
I could kiss her right now.
The smile she sent my way was intoxicating, sucking all the breath from my lungs. I wanted to take her right here, splay her out on the counter and have round two.
Obviously, her daughter being right in the living room made that impossible. But it didn't stop me from picturing her body bent over the granite counter, legs spread open, taking my cock as I pounded deep inside her.
My dick started to stiffen, pressing up to say hello, and daring me to make her scream my name again. Glancing away, I knew that what had happened the night before couldn't happen again.
It was wrong for me to take her when she was so vulnerable, so weak and emotional. But I didn't do it because I thought I could, I did it because I wanted her, I needed her.
And she needed me, if only for a night.
But now that I had her, I had to move past the dangerous attraction she painted across my bones. The feeling went deep, too deep to forget, too deep to ignore.
But I have to ignore it.
This was work. It had to stay work.
The smell of pancakes wafted up and broke my thoughts. "That smells amazing," I said, letting the savory aroma pull me behind Jennie. Looking over her shoulder, she let her shoulders brush my chest, sending prickles over my skin.
"So, mattress woman, tell me, do you enjoy breakfast after a night of hard work?"
Laughing, I couldn't stop my fingers from tracing her shoulders. "Who doesn't?" Her hair tickled my cheek, tempting me to snuggle into her neck. Lunging backwards, my feet scraped the tiles.
"Something wrong?" Jennie asked, twisting over her shoulder.
I didn't want to hurt her, but I knew I had to draw the lines back in our relationship. I was hired for her, I wasn't hired to fuck her. Disappointment drew thick crinkles across my forehead, my lips turning razor thin. "Jennie, about last night—"
"Don't, I get it. You don't need to explain." Flipping a perfectly golden pancake onto a plate, she held it up for me to take. "But I won't say I regret it, because I don't."
"No, I don't regret it either. It's just your friends are paying me, it's not ethical."
"I know, I understand. Syrup is in the fridge."
Stepping to the fridge, I snagged the syrup. "It's just don't want you getting the wrong idea. I'm not in the market for myself, I don't want a relationship." Placing the plate on the small round kitchen table. "Does she need this cut?" I asked, pouring globs of thick, sticky liquid over the fluffy pancake.
"What?" she asked, lost in thought, or my words. Maybe both.
"Ella— does she need me to cut this for her?"
"You know for someone with no experience with kids, you're kind of a natural." Her plump lips curled up, eyes twinkling in a way that made the brown as golden as the sugary liquid spilling from the bottle. "And no." Tossing me a plastic butter knife, she carried in two more plates of breakfast. "She likes to try and cut them herself."
"Are you sure you're cool with what happened?" I wanted to know that she wasn't just putting on some act, some fake smile to put me at ease.
I should be able to read her, but right now I can't.
"Yeah, it's cool, Lisa. I get it, you're not interested in dating. I'm not going to say I don't think it's weird, especially since that's what you do for a living." Finishing the pancakes, she turned off the stove. "But don't worry about it, alright?"
I could hear the gray tone in her voice, coating her words with colorless expression. She wasn't any happier than I was. There was something about this woman that drew me in and I knew she felt the same.
Our personalities meshed like chocolate and peanut butter. She was funny, smart, and sexy as hell. And when I was with her, I felt like the world around me didn't exist. She consumed my thoughts daily, the need to know more about her grew on my brain like fungus.
It was there and it didn't matter how much I tried to ignore it. The need continued to smolder, festering in the back of my mind, no matter what I was doing.
"Ella, Honey, breakfast," Jennie called out.
The tiny patter of excited feet trampled into the kitchen, launching her into the chair. "Mattress woman, my Mommy makes the best pancakes. Did your mommy make you pancakes when you were little?"
Tilting my head, I answered her wonder. "Well, no. But a woman named Loretta did, Ella."
Squinting her eyes, the curls fell across her forehead. "You call your mom Loretta?"
Swallowing a mouthful of the best pancakes I had eaten in years, I said, "No, I grew up in a lot of different homes, for kids who didn't have mommies or daddies."
Suddenly my heart stopped, blood surging my veins like fire. Ella had asked me a question I vowed to keep away from my work. Her innocence had masked the devilish pain I harbored about never giving away my life history.
But to the small curious child, the answer spilled from my tongue without a second thought. I didn't have time to think, when she asked the words just came flying out.
"I have a daddy, but he's in heaven. Mommy says I look just like him, but between you and me. . ." Ella leaned in, cupping her mouth and speaking as if Jennie couldn't hear her, despite her being right there beside us. "I'm a girl, daddy was a boy."
Chuckling, I ruffled her head. "You know you're right, I think you look more like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. All you're missing is the yellow gown."
Jennie smiled, not asking about my past. Maybe she caught the large rush of air that I sucked in after answering her daughter, or maybe I had a look that flooded my face.
But her smile was bittersweet, a note of 'don't worry, I get it', mixed with curiosity and timing.
Now was not the time to start digging, not the time to divulge in questions and priming about what I had said.
Jennie was aware of my rules, and in less than three days, I had broken the first two. My list wasn't long, it wasn't a large run-on sentence with extremely small print. My rules were basic, set in place to keep me focused.
The first two were rules were the most important, the rest was mostly just for personal retrospect. Rule three: always put the clients needs first. Rule four: never give in to what they might demand, because reality and dreams are totally different. And rule five; always be on top.
On top of my work, on top of my goals, and on top of my life.