The Nanny

Chapter 18

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Senior year is off to a fairly good start so far...fingers crossed that nothing goes terribly wrong. :P

And, in honor of Andrew's 32nd birthday today, here is a story in which he stars. Enjoy!

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Chapter 18

The weeks during late October followed a routine I wouldn't dare screw up. My life, using the simplest description as possible, was the best it ever had been.

The beagle Haley "rescued" from the park had officially become a part of the family. Nobody had called to claim her within two weeks of us finding her, so Andrew decided we could keep her. She was pretty cute, after all.

Haley named her Pooka after the dog in Anastasia.

Pooka had been cute since Haley found her, but she now made a habit of crawling in Andrew's bed and licking his feet all night long. At five thirty every single morning, Pooka woke us up with her incessant whining and licking. Potty training a dog was definitely harder than it looked, especially in New York City.

On October twenty seventh, Haley and I were busy in the kitchen making cupcakes for a Halloween party at her school.

"What do you want decorated on the top?" I asked, sneaking licks of the frosting.

Haley's hands were covered in cupcake mix. "Pumpkins. Make them happy faces."

We got down to work, preparing the mix for two dozen cupcakes.

Just then, Pooka started barking and the front door opened. Andrew had grocery bags in his hands and an envelope in his mouth. It was hard to decipher what he was trying to say, but it was somewhere along the lines of "Greetings" and "ones."

"Come again?" I laughed. I washed my hands and helped him with the bags.

He removed the envelope from his mouth and surprised me by planting a kiss on my lips.

"What's going on here?" he asked, inspecting our cooking station. There was flour all over the counter.

"We're making cupcakes for school," answered Haley, stirring the batter. "They're Halloween themed."

He nodded his head and gently touched my waist as he moved past me. Carefully placing his finger underneath the seal, Andrew opened the envelope with a satisfying smile.
"What is that, Daddy?"

He cleared his throat. "Dear Mister Andrew Garfield," he read. "You're formally invited to Haley Garfield's ballet dance recital on the thirtieth of October--"

Haley squealed excitedly. "My dance recital! You're going, right, Daddy?"

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. "Of course I'm going, squirt. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

I eyed the invitation. "A dance recital, huh? What songs are you dancing to?"

"There's one routine where we jump around to that song from Shrek."

Pooka barked loudly, almost like she was inserting herself into the conversation. It was strange how quickly she became a part of the family.

To think about it, I was fairly new at this whole family thing, too. It was weird, but a good weird.

Andrew was leaning against me, close enough that I could feel his every breath. "So, what do my girls want for dinner this evening?"

My girls.

"Spaghetti? Steak?" He grinned, his lips trailing down my neck.

I gently pulled away and met his gaze. "Keep you hands and mouth to yourself," I whispered.

He knew I was joking, so he wrapped his arms around both me and Haley. "I say spaghetti."

"I want cupcakes!" Haley said.

Andrew laughed. "You can't have cupcakes for dinner, squirt."

While Haley and I continued making the cupcakes, Andrew prepared spaghetti. He moved around the kitchen swiftly, touching me in some way every time we passed each other.

"Hey, Hales, I need to ask you something," he said, salting the sauce. She turned around to listen and I repeated her. Where was he going with this? "What do you think about Natalie moving in here...with us?"

Haley licked frosting off her fingers and frowned. "I thought she already had."

Andrew and I laughed. He glanced at me. "I take that as a yes, then."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and hung there, giggling. "I'm so excited! So she'll be here all the time?"

I nodded, smiling. A simple smile could not describe just how satisfied I was with my life.

Haley couldn't stop listing things her and I were going to do during the day--Barbie playing, movie watching, ice cream eating, dancing. There were almost an endless amount of possibilities.

Andrew entangled me in his arms and kissed the side of my head, breathing in deeply.

After dinner Haley kept us up until ten o'clock. Eventually she fell asleep and Andrew and I were in his bed. We had just gotten comfortable when his phone buzzed.

He shook his head. "Brit, why are you calling me this late?"

I sat on his stomach and ran my fingers across his abdomen. As he spoke to his sister, I nibbled on his neck, enjoying the look of arousal I received.

"Yes, I'm...listening," he whispered. Every move I made he eyed cautiously, narrowing his eyes. I was turning him on. "Yes, she's coming. But not that kind of coming."

I slapped his chest and he grinned.

"Yes, I love her," he answered, his legs squirming underneath me. "Yes. Why are you up so late? Oh, yeah, those wedding jitters. I'm not familiar with those feelings. Shut up." He smiled and gestured at me to keep kissing him. So I did--all over. "Well, if that's all I'm afraid I'm going to have to hang up on you because someone is in trouble."

He hung up and quickly rolled on top of me, his hands pulling on my pajama bottoms.

"Is she freaking out about the wedding?" I asked.

He nodded. "She's worried everyone won't fit. That's probably the least of her worries, she just doesn't know it yet." His mouth dominated mine. "I'm not quite sure what else she was saying because I was a little distracted."

I pushed my hands through his full head of hair. "I love you."

"And I you," he mumbled against my lips.

I giggled and felt his pelvis match mine once he clicked off the bedside lamp.