"I don't need a freaking babysitter. I'm old enough to take care of myself." Lindsey Willows said pouting very much like her mother, her arms crossed against her chest defiantly.
"Uh, your mother would beg to differ," Greg said as he breezed past the teenager and into the house.
"I've been here alone before," Lindsey said as she stormed past him to flop on the couch.
"But your mother doesn't want you here alone at night." Greg could tell this was not going to be easy. "Look, it's going to be totally cool. I'm totally cool. We're going to have so much fun. Look, I brought Finding Nemo! You can stay up and watch it with me!"
"I'm not a baby. I don't watch kids' movies."
Greg looked down at his dvd, then back up at Lindsey. "Don't dis the Nemo kid."
Lindsey muttered something under her breath and Greg narrowed his eyes. "What was that?"
"I said you're a flippin' loser who probably just wants to get with my mom."
Greg felt like wringing her neck. "You can not talk to me that way. I'm the adult here." Greg suddenly realized how stupid that sounded.
"So you're not denying you want her?"
Greg glared at her.
Lindsey smirked, realizing that she had touched a nerve. "So you do want to get with my mom. Are you trying to be her Ashton to her Demi? Cuz, my mom doesn't go for guys like you. She prefers older, more sophisticated guys - ones that don't watch kids' movies and certainly ones that dress better than you," she said eyeing him critically.
Greg could feel his blood boiling. What was wrong with his Clash t-shirt and jeans? His cell phone rang and he flipped it open. "Greg Sanders here," he said tightly.
"Hey Greg, it's Catherine. I just wanted to call and make sure you got there ok."
"Oh, yes," Greg choked out, as Lindsey smirked at him knowingly. He frowned at her and withdrew into the kitchen, away from Lindsey's prying ears. "Everything is just fine. Lindsey is just fine. We're getting along wonderfully." He wondered if she noticed his voice cracking.
"You haven't been going through any of my stuff have you?" Catherine asked suddenly.
"No! Of course not."
"Great. Ok- well, don't let Lindsey stay up too late. I know it's the weekend and all, but I want her to at least be in bed at least before 2 am."
"Sure, sure Catherine. Not a problem."
"Oh, and there's food in the fridge if you want it. And if Lindsey wants ice cream, she can have it, but make sure she doesn't go overboard."
Greg smiled. "I won't."
"And let me know if she gives you any trouble."
"She's fine. She's a great kid Catherine."
He could feel her smile on the other line. "Ok. Thanks Greg. You're a lifesaver."
"Anything for you Catherine," he said, meaning his tone to be seductive but instead, it came out squealish. He winced, hoping that she didn't notice, but the pause on the other end of the phone meant she did.
Finally, she said, "This doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you again." Catherine hung up.
Greg pounded the phone on his head. "Dumb. Dumb. Dumb."
"Well, I already know that," Lindsey said, leaning in the kitchen doorway. She waved something around her head and Greg squinted his eyes, trying to make out what it was.
"Hey, what is that?"
Lindsey threw it at him and he caught it in mid-air. Looking down in his hand, Greg realized with horror that it was a bra from Catherine's closet. "What are you doing! Catherine's going to think I went through her stuff!" Greg said panicking.
Lindsey laughed hysterically and ran off. Greg began to chase after her, but he skidded to a halt when he saw his backpack open. He bent over, and with the same horror stricken face he had in the kitchen, he began pulling out the various lingerie items that had been stuffed in it.
Greg, now with both hands now full of clothing, finally blew his top. "LINDSEY!"
Three house chases, five yelling matches, and two ice cream bowls later, Lindsey and Greg were now seated in front of the television, enjoying Finding Nemo.
"You know, you're really not so bad," Lindsey said, grinning at Greg whose shirt was now covered in chocolate syrup after a kitchen dispute gone awry.
"Compliments will get you nowhere. You, my friend, are going to put back every article of your mother's clothing back in its place as soon as this movie is over with," Greg said, pointing a spoon at her. "And you're cleaning up the kitchen."
"You're the one who started it!"
"But I wasn't the one who used chocolate sauce!" Greg exclaimed.
"Fine." She pouted for a moment before allowing a slow smirk to spread across her face.
The smirk made Greg nervous.
"What?" he asked, sure he didn't want to know the answer.
"Nothing. It's just that you're fun to mess with."
Greg looked at her warily. "Thanks - I think."
"No problem," she said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Now, let's get back to the movie. You're missing the best part. This is when Dory and Marlin hook up with some sharks. Oh man, this is great stuff."
Lindsey glanced sidelong at the excited Greg and shook her head. What a dork.
When Catherine came home that morning, she found both Greg curled up on the couch, snoring softly. She smiled and tiptoed past him to check Lindsey's room. Inside, she found the girl sound asleep, her arm flung over the edge of the bed, covers kicked off her body. Catherine moved toward the bed and tucked her daughter back in. Lindsey's eyes slit open at the movement.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Catherine said, kissing her daughter's forehead.
"S'kay," Lindsey muttered, yawning.
"Go back to sleep honey. It's only eight in the morning."
Lindsey nodded, and closed her eyes once more as her mother moved back into the livingroom to find a wide-awake Greg. Catherine raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I woke you too?"
"Nah. The sun did," Greg grinned at her, making Catherine slightly uncomfortable.
She noted that he had chocolate stains all over his shirt. "So you guys did ok last night? I see you found the ice cream and syrup last night," Catherine said, noticing the bowls still sitting on the table. She moved to pick them up, but Greg snatched them and began walking to the kitchen.
"Yeah, we were fine. Piece of cake," Greg yelled after him. Catherine surveyed the house for damage. Finding none, she moved to the kitchen. It appeared cleaner than she had left it.
"Wow, you guys cleaned up!" Catherine said, impressed. "I'm grateful! Not many babysitters clean the kitchen."
Greg leaned forward, indicating for her to kiss his cheek. She pushed him back. "I'm not that grateful," she said wryly. Her phone rang shrilly and she answered it. "Oh, hey...no..it's not too early. Of course... Dinner tonight would be great...At 7 pm? I think I can do that. I'm not working and my daughter's going to her friend's house tonight so-" She wiped off the silly grin on her face when she realized Greg was listening intently to her conversation. "Look, can I call you back later? Thanks."
She snapped her phone shut and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep so-"
Greg felt disappointed that she was so eager for him to leave, but then again, she did just get off from work. "Let me just grab my stuff," he said, walking back into the living room. She followed him as he grabbed his jacket off the couch and picked up his backpack.
"Hey, is this your movie?" Catherine asked, picking up the dvd off of the coffee table.
"Yeah, Lindsey and I watched it last night," Greg said, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly. "I'm a sucker for kids' movies."
Catherine looked at the dvd fondly. "I've been wanting to watch it actually. Lindsey's in this phase where she thinks animation is childish. She wants to be mature," Catherine said, shaking her head.
"You can borrow it if you want," Greg said smiling and she grinned back at him. Inwardly, he was doing back flips. He knew he was growing on her. He slid on his jacket. It would only be a matter of time.
"Thanks Greg, I think I will. Oh, and thank you again for taking care of Lindsey. I really do appreci-" She stopped, catching a glimpse of something very familiar sticking out of Greg's pocket. "Greg, what's that in your pocket?"
Greg blinked. "What?" He was not liking the sudden shift in what he had thought was a pretty good atmosphere. He patted his jean pockets. There was nothing in them- but wait, his jacket...oh no...his jacket...did he leave that unattended? With Lindsey?
Before he could reach into his jacket pockets, Catherine snatched an object out of one of them in blindingly fast speed. As she dangled the object before her eyes, Greg's heart sunk. "Is this my underwear?" she screeched.
It suddenly dawned on Greg what Lindsey's smirk last night had exactly meant.
TBC
