Loving My Best Friend's Dad Ch. 03

I sat at the island in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea between my hands. I was enjoying the time alone and letting the warmth of the cup comfort me. Ashley was still sleeping the day away at mid-afternoon and Mr. Anderson sounded like he was busy in his office. I woke early to the sound of a laptop keyboard being abused. After last night's events I was not surprised that neither of them left their rooms. As for me, I gave up making sense of it all after spending a good chunk of the night in my bed battling with my brain to stop replaying the kiss and to let me sleep. It finally listened to me around three in the morning. Only five hours of sleep for this girl. I took a sip of my tea and sighed with content, replaying last night's kiss with Mr. Anderson. I wondered if there would be more to come or would he avoid me again. I closed my eyes and imagined his body up against mine and his kisses taking me over. My little daydream was soon interrupted by the one person who refused to leave my thoughts.

Mr. Anderson walked into the kitchen, straight to the coffee maker. I raised my eyebrows wondering why he would need coffee in the middle of the day. While the water boiled, he turned to the fridge and searched for food. I admired his cute butt when he reached down to grab a bagel and butter. He looked like he was about to go to the office, slacks and a button shirt, the slacks formed well around his bottom. I started to wondered if he was ignoring me, given he hasn't so much as looked at me or acknowledged my presence since he walked in.

"Good morning to you too." I finally spoke, getting tired of being ignored as he toasted his bagel, buttered it, and made a cup of coffee in a travel mug as it finished. Now he was on his phone texting away like his life depended on it.

"Good morning, Erin. I'm sorry there is something going on at work and they need me there." He made his way to me and placed a kiss on my forehead, "We need to talk later. Can we do that when I get home?"

"Uh, sure. I guess." I answered, surprised by the kiss to my forehead. He smiled at me before racing out the door to work.

With nothing better to do, I chose to go swimming and enjoy the weather outside. I cleaned the pool with the skimmer and dived right in. I was in the middle of my third round of 10 laps between tanning to cool off when I saw a pair of feet enter the water off to the side. I swam to the surface and was greeted by Ashley, who was munching on some toast, looking fresh out of bed.

"I see you decided to join me in the land of the living." I joked. She flipped me off with a smile. I made my way to her and stood in the water.

"A girl needs her beauty sleep. Besides I never went to sleep until early morning. Last night was a mess." She sighed and shook her head.

"I really want to say I told you so." I said. She ignored my comment.

"It was going great until we heard you yelling. I didn't expect dad home for another hour or so. And before you ask because I know you're going to, no, we did not have sex. Dad blew it way out of proportion. We just made out and it got kind of handsy..." she indicated at her chest and made a groping motion. I started laughing, the image of her father walking in on that was funnier than it should have been. Ashley kicked water at me, yelling that it wasn't funny but laughed too.

I got out of the pool and dried off. I updated Ashley on Zachary. I told her how we danced and talked most of the night. I never mentioned that he was gay, thinking it really wasn't my place to tell her. I really wanted to tell her about her dad kissing me, but kept it to myself. She reminded me that I should try and get with Zachary, that it would make for fun double dates and we wouldn't be third wheels when she was with Cole.

We spent the next few hours in front of the television watching reality shows and making fun of some of the crazy people and vowing to never let each other agree to go on TV now that we were living a popular rich people area.

Mr. Anderson arrived home close to dinner time. Ashley was on the phone with Cole when he walked in and became silent. He walked up to her and gave her a small hug followed by a kiss on the forehead. He whispered something to her and she nodded saying something back. They seemed to have made up in a way. Ashley soon hung up with Cole and motioned for me to come upstairs with her.

"Cole asked me to go out to dinner with him, just the two of us." She told me after she shut her bedroom door.

"Okay..." I trailed off. What did this have to do with me?

"I feel bad leaving you alone." She worried, then added, "And not just alone, but alone with my dad."

"We're not always going to be together. We will drive each other crazy. I'll be fine here, your dad doesn't bother me. Go have dinner." I insisted. This would make having a talk with her dad a whole lot easier tonight.

"Are you sure?" She questioned, not believing me.

"Yes! Go! I really would rather not be the third wheel on a date with you two." I repeated.

I helped her get ready for her dinner date by watching her rip apart her closet looking for something to wear. She finally settled on a black dress...well if you could call it that, it was very short and didn't leave much to the imagination. I watched Cole's car pull into the drive way as she finished applying makeup and strapped on some heels.

Ashley ran downstairs and opened the front door before Cole could ring the doorbell. He cleaned up nice, his hair was brushed, light button up shirt, and slacks. It must be a nice place if they were dressing up so much.

"When are you going to be home?" I asked, I didn't know what events they had planned and really had no desire to know, but wanted to know so I wouldn't worry.

"I'll be home late, mom, don't wait up for me." She joked. I rolled my eyes and wished them a fun night.

I waited until they made their way back out of the driveway before closing the door. I sat on the couch as another reality show came on but I was too lost in the thought to pay attention. I wondered if Mr. Anderson was still going to want to talk. What exactly were we going to talk about? Last night? Our attraction to each other? Was he going to tell me last night was a mistake...no, if that was the case he wouldn't have kissed my forehead this morning, right?

Speaking of the devil, Mr. Anderson walked into the room with his phone glued to his ear. He saw me sitting on the couch and indicated with a finger held up for me to wait. He kept talking to the other person, talking technical stuff that made no sense to me. He soon wrapped up the call and joined me on the couch. He turned slightly so that his body faced mine, his arm draped over the back of the seat. We were quiet for a minute, just looking at each other, I couldn't get over how handsome he was.

"We should probably find a way to talk in private. I don't want Ashley walking down here and finding us engaged in a personal conversation." He said. It took a moment to realize he had no idea she had left with Cole.

"She isn't here. It's just us." I told him. He gave me a confused look before asking where she was. I explained that she left on a date with Cole while he was on the phone. He didn't appear very happy when I said that but left it alone.

"In that case, we can talk right here if you are all right with that." He checked with me.

"I'm fine." I assured him and re-positioned to get comfortable and face him.

"I am not really sure where to begin." He stated after a moment of silence. He moved his glasses to rub his eyes and sighed.

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked referring to last night.

"I wanted to kiss you for a while, Erin. It never seemed appropriate. Not that last night was appropriate either, but you understand what I mean, right?" He placed his glasses back on and looked at me before going on, "I have been reminding myself since you got here that you are so young, my daughter's friend, and your mother would probably kill me if I touched you."

"Since day one? You have been interested in me since the morning we had breakfast?" I perked up a little, this was my proof that I was right about the little moves and signs he displayed.

"Was I not obvious? I feel like a stupid boy whenever you're around me, my brain loses all common sense and I forget what I am supposed to do." He gave a short-embarrassed laugh.

"It was a little obvious. I couldn't tell if you were just being nice to me or interested though. I've been waiting for a sure sign. Was your jealousy from last night a sure sign?" I asked him.

"I was not jealous." He answered defensively.

"You were jealous!" I told him and laughed. He shook his head at me, neither confirming or denying it but smiling. When I finished teasing him for being jealous, I asked, "So what does this mean for us then?

"That depends entirely on you. Do you want to stop this completely or do you want to see where this goes?"

"I don't know. I don't want this to ruin my friendship with Ashley, but I want to know what this is. If we decided to do this, that means not telling her until we are sure about what we are, we should tell her eventually. I am not comfortable keeping secrets from her but I don't want to hurt her either."

We sat in silence for a moment, both of us going over what we wanted to do. He took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. I looked at our hands and knew I wanted to go forward and discover where this could lead. The idea of not seeing this through formed a small lump in my throat. I played out scenarios in my head where this could either end well or badly.

"Erin." He spoke softly bringing me back to the real world. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to kiss you." I finally said after deciding.

With that said, Mr. Anderson leaned forward and gently kissed me. His lips felt so soft and warm against mine, I never wanted him to stop, everything in that moment felt right. I placed my arms around his neck and moved closer to him, our kiss deepening as I did. I could feel his hands lightly rubbing my back before wrapping around me. We made out for what felt like forever only breaking apart to breathe and give small kisses. We were in the middle of a kiss when his phone rang. He groaned against my lips and proceeded to try and fish out his cell from his pocket.

He checked to see who it was and explained it was work. I nodded and got up to leave him to his technical terms and issues. My stomach suddenly growled at me when I entered the kitchen. I glanced at the clock and saw it was late evening, well no wonder I was hungry, we skipped dinner time. I began to scour the cabinets and fridge for food but finding nothing I wanted. I gave up when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and Mr. Anderson's head rest on my shoulder.

"Are you looking for anything particular?" He asked me before placing a light kiss on my neck. I felt little goosebumps spread down my arms from the kiss and his beard. He noticed my reaction and did it again. I shook my head no in answer, trying to hold in a giggle because it tickled and turned me on. "What do you say we go get something to eat? Before you say no, this will be my treat."

"Where should we go?" I rested my arms over his as he moved to the other side of my neck and placed little kisses on it, goosebumps raining down my body by now. He was enjoying this a little too much.

"What are you in the mood for?" He asked.

My first reaction was to say "him" just for the hell of it but I didn't know how he would take that answer and it was not something I was ready to do if he took it literally. I put some actual thought into what I was craving, I really wanted Italian food.

"Is there any Italian places around here?" I questioned.

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I settled into the passenger seat of Mr. Anderson's black Corvette and smoothed my hand over the soft leather interior. I have always wanted a sports car and admired them from afar, this was my first time seeing one up close and sitting in it. What made this even better was I had a hot guy who was a gentleman and held the door open for me before getting in himself. That is something you do not see these days.

I smoothed out my sun dress and crossed my legs in attempt to get comfortable in my seat waiting for Mr. Anderson to get in. He made his way around the vehicle and let himself in. Soon we were all set and off. The drive to the restaurant was a short one, we held hands the whole way and I felt like a giddy school girl, something about this man just made me get butterflies inside. He escorted me into the restaurant with his hand on the small of my back and making small talk along the way.

"Table for two?" Asked a hostess when we entered the building. Mr. Anderson nodded while I looked around. The place was busy but not overly crowded, the food looked delicious, and every table had a small tea light candle floating in a small center bowl. The whole place appeared romantic and classy. After we were seated the hostess explained that our waitress would be with us soon and wished us a good evening.

I picked up my menu and glanced over it, the prices quickly making themselves known to me. I looked up at Mr. Anderson with wide eyes, I must have had what I was thinking written on my forehead because he reached for me hand and told me not to worry and it was his treat. I took a small breath and tried to relax but it felt as if a boulder was resting on my chest. I have never seen such expensive meals that if we were back home at the local Olive Garden it would be less than half the price this place wanted. I began to look for something that sounded tasty but cheap, even the appetizers were overpriced.

Our waitress appeared and asked if we were ready to order drinks. We gave her our orders and she stated she would be back with rolls for us. I skimmed over the menu some more before settling on a meal that wasn't by any means cheap but compared to the rest of the items, appeared to be the most reasonable. When our waitress returned with rolls and requested our orders, we stated what we wanted and then was left alone.

Mr. Anderson reached his hands across the table to take mine, bringing them to his lips and kissing them.

"This place looks really nice." I stated as I looked around the room some more.

"It is, I've only been here a few times." Mr. Anderson told me as he watched me with a smile.

"Oh, so you probably bring all your dates here?" I asked with a slight bit of teasing.

"Only one, she appeared more interested in the surroundings than me." He chuckled. He was talking about me, oops.

"I'm sorry! I am not used to nice places like this." I apologized and focused my full attention on him. "I am the only date you've brought here?"

"Yes, you're the only one I've brought here. I don't exactly go on a lot of dates." He told me. I raised my eyebrows, slightly surprised. He was a good-looking man. I kind of imagined women throwing themselves at him. "Is it really that surprising?"

"A bit. I mean, you're good looking, very nice, and while it seems a little shallow, you are set when it comes to money." I pointed out.

"I see, what you are saying is that you're really here because of my money." He replied with a serious face.

"Oh god, no! I am not...oh no...I am not like that at all." I stammered trying to find some way to take back the money comment. How stupid could I be or mention that?!

"Erin, I'm joking! I am only joking." He laughed and gave my hand a squeeze to reassure me. I stared at him with my mouth open in shock that he joked about that.

"That is not funny." I started to laugh a little because he was laughing, something about him being happy and enjoying himself, made me want to join in.

"It is a little funny. I'm sorry, but you are right. I've been on a few dates where it seemed the woman I was with was more interested in my money and how I could financially support her. It tends to ruin a first date but you get an impression of them quickly and know not to attempt a second one." He explained.

"Can I ask, have you been in a serious relationship since...um...you know." I felt this was a much more personal answer and didn't want to seem like I was overstepping or ruining our first date.

"Ashley's mom?" He finished for me. I nodded in response. He took a breath and thought to himself for a moment before replying, "No, I have not. I have been in a few relationships but nothing that was anywhere near as serious as that relationship. If I had to guess, I would say the longest relationship since then was around six to eight months."

"That sucks. What happens if we don't work out? No, wait, let's start from the beginning, what attracted you to me in the first place?" I asked, very interested in how he was attracted to me when we had barely met.

"Honestly, I just thought you were beautiful. You walked into my kitchen with these little shorts on, big shirt, and looked like a deer in headlights when I first saw you." He began to laugh remembering that morning. I can see how I could have looked like a deer in headlights when I first got a look at him and nodded in agreement. "You looked so innocent. I don't know, from the moment I saw you I felt a need to get close to you. However, you're so much younger than I and my daughter's friend. I didn't want to be creepy, but I wanted to be close to you."

"I can see how I may have appeared as a deer in headlights, you were half naked." I indicated to his upper body, "I really did not expect to see a half-naked man on my first morning. You were nice to me though and cook an amazing breakfast."

"Well thank you, I strive to keep up my good looks and amazing cooking skills." He pretended to flex his nonexistent muscles and winked at me. "As for your other question, if this does not work out, hopefully we can remain friends and my daughter not be affected by it. For now, why don't we keep talking and give it time?"

"We can do that." I told him. At that moment, the waitress brought out our meals and set them in front of us. Everything looked amazing. We both began to eat and chatted very little during our meal.

We were almost finished when the waitress brought the check and held it between us. She looked to me and then him wondering who was going to take care of it.

"Mr. And...er..." I trailed off when Mr. Anderson looked at me with his brows raised. It was at that moment, I realized I have never called him by any other name and didn't even know his first name. I picked my drink up and took a sip while the waitress handed the check over to him. I remained silent as we gathered our things and made our way to the entrance.

"Awe, I love when a father can still take his daughter out for nice dinners. You two have a wonderful night." Our hostess called out to us. My face felt like a flame had taken over. I quickly moved to get out of the restaurant. I reached the Corvette before Mr. Anderson did and turned to find his face a bit red too. I started laughing while he stood looking at me appearing embarrassed by the hostess comment as well.

When he reached the car, he leaned down, planting me between him and the car, and gave me a long kiss. I reached up to his face and ran my hands over his beard. We parted when he said, "I hope fathers don't kiss their daughters like this."

I giggled replaying the hostess's comment as he opened my door for me and helped me into my seat. I settled in while he made his way around the car and into the driver's seat. We stopped on the way home and grabbed desert from an ice cream shop. We both got ice cream cones and I felt him watch me as I licked my cone. I squirmed in my seat a little and he turned his attention to something else. We headed home afterwards.

When we got home the house was dark, Ashley hadn't arrived home yet. We pulled into the garage and headed inside the house. I turned on the lights and peeked at the clock. It was only nine o'clock. I really doubt she would be home until well after one in the morning. Hopefully she was having a good time.