Falling for an Older Man

one

And no one can understand infatuation, no matter how many times they have experienced it.

—Mignon McLaughlin

♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥

Sally hopped onto the bed, carefully holding her laptop in her left hand before slowly placing it down next to her.

"What do you want to watch?" she inquired as she scrolled through the webpage.

"I don't mind," I lied. I wasn't about to force her to watch Stranger Things with me for the second time.

"Crap, I left the snacks in the kitchen. Wait here," Sally jumped off the bed and zipped out of the room. I huffed as I stretched my legs that swung below me.

I scratched my head as I looked closely at her bedroom wall for the first time. Surprisingly, this was the first I'd visited my best friend's house. Her pink room was currently adorned with Polaroid photos of her and her other, more popular friends.

I rapidly twisted my head towards the archway of the door as I heard a man's deep voice.

"Hey, I'm home..." The man looked at me with surprise plastered upon his face. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words appeared.

"Dad!" As I heard Sally's voice and rapid footsteps, my face turned itself away in embarrassment. "You told me you wouldn't be home until six!"

"I caught the earlier train." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "since when were we allowed to bring guests over without getting permission?"

"Dad!" Sally whined and her father sighed with a tired expression. When I turned back and looked at him, I saw he was wearing a white shirt with a dark blazer folded over his arm. His tie was loose around his neck and hair gel was keeping his dark hair swept back. He looked at me and smiled before turning back to his daughter.

"We'll talk about this later." He glanced at his watch before rubbing his slightly bloodshot eyes. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" He suddenly asked me. I widened my eyes in surprise and glanced at Sally who was hiding her face behind her hands.

"...Yeah. Yes, please." I stumbled.

"Great." He raised his eyebrows at Sally before walking out of the room. As he left my line of sight, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in.

"Sorry about that," Sally quickly closed the door behind as she stepped into her room.

"It's alright," I fiddled with the sleeves of my sweater as she sat back down next to me on the bed.

"You don't have to stay for dinner if you don't want to," Sally reassured me.

I grinned sheepishly, "that's okay, my mum doesn't cook dinner for me anyway."

Sally sniggered, "poor you." I rolled my eyes.

After watching one and a half episodes of The Vampire Diaries, we heard a knock on the door. Sally's father opened the door and leaned into the room slightly.

"Dinner's ready ladies." He told us. I looked down, smiling slightly and blushing at the fact he referred to me as a 'lady'.

"Thanks, Dad," Sally grumbled.

As I left the bedroom and stepped foot into the kitchen, I noticed he had set the table nicely with three plates resting on their own individual placemats.

Sally noticed this and whined, "can't Holly and I just eat in my room?"

"No," Sally's dad replied, "please sit."

Sally sighed and I exhaled slightly through my nose, amused at Sally's embarrassment.

Sally's dad and I sat at opposite ends of the table with Sally sitting on the side. I decided to wait until Sally began eating before I took a bite of the dinner. I played with my food while I chewed, resisting the urge to hum in delight. It tasted exquisite!

Sally's dad raked a hand against his head, several strands of hair falling against his forehead. His sleeves were folded up, his bare forearms on show. He was clean-shaven and had piercing blue eyes.

I swiftly looked away from Sally's dad when I noticed I had been watching him for too long.

"So," Sally's dad broke the awkward silence, "how was school?"

"Good," was all that Sally said in response.

"Are you two in the same class?" He questioned while gesturing to us with his fork.

"We have homeroom and literature together," I managed to squeak out.

"That's great," Sally's dad replied. His voice was deep, a quiet hint of a rasp tickling his throat. His expression was kind despite his seemingly permanent furrowed eyebrows.

"It's okay if you don't finish," Sally said after a while. "Pasta is literally the only thing my dad can make." Her dad raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"It's delicious, Mr Saul," I reassured him.

"Thank you," he seemed to slightly smirk as we made eye contact, making my face feel warm.

My eyes wandered down to his hands. They were quite large; I could imagine them wrapping around someone's throat and gently squeezing... He held his fork with a firm grip. I felt myself swallow.

♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥

"Thank you for dinner, Mr Saul!" I beamed as I made an increased effort to be polite.

"You're very welcome," he softly smiled down at me and I felt my stomach do a flip. My period must be due soon... "It was nice meeting you Holly," I blushed slightly at the sound of my name, though I could tell that he was trying to get me out of his house without being rude.

"It was nice meeting you too," I almost whispered.

"I'll text you," Sally mumbled to me and I nodded. I said goodbye to both of them before exiting their house.

As I stepped off the porch I let out a sigh of relief. I still wasn't used to meeting new people, but I was thankful when the nervous pit in my stomach slowly faded away. However, there was still a feeling present that I wasn't used to. I couldn't help but think about Sally's dad as I glanced back at the house. I thought fathers were supposed to be super cheesy and, to be frank, unappealing...

I think I'd like it if I visited Sally's house again.