the sitter | lewandowski

thirteen

13 ; want without reason

"So, lovergirl, how did things go?" Mari approached Saoirse as she walked towards the bus stop, not planning on going to visit Robert at his office today.

"What do you mean?" Saoirse inquired, blinking over at Mari.

"Last night. Did you blow his brains out, or what?"

"Oh, goodness." Saoirse's face burned. "No, Mari, I didn't. I chickened out."

"I respect your privacy and all, so I won't ask who he is." Mari responded, biting her lip. "But what's he like?"

Saoirse sighed, dreamily, and spoke. "Handsome. And...manly. I don't know, nothing like the guys here. He's mature! He really knows how to please me." The two climbed onto the bus and sat next to one another. "It's really something else, and that's all I can say."

The rest of the bus ride, Mari and Saoirse compared older men to the younger ones. Because the bus didn't go into Saoirse's gated community, she had to get off at the last stop, then walk from there.

"Saoirse!" Erik held onto the straps of his backpack and ran after the Montenegrin, not having been able to talk to her on the bus. Shit, Saoirse thought. Do I ignore him? Run away? Face him?

She settled on the latter, stopping and turning around to face him. "Hello, Erik."

"Hi," he let out a breath, "Can I,"—another pant—"Walk you home?"

Saoirse held onto the few books that wouldn't fit in her backpack and shrugged. "It's a tedious walk, Erik. These hills are terrible."

"That's quite alright, I don't mind it. Here, let me carry your books."

"Along with yours?" Saoirse spoke, eyebrows risen. Erik's face was red.

"I'm certain I can handle it."

Saoirse shrugged. "If you insist," she noted, before dumping the books in Erik's hand and watching him wince. She would've insisted on holding them herself, but figured if Erik knew how hard it was going to be, he wouldn't want to walk her home any longer.

"So, are you seeing anyone right now? Because you know, I really like you and would really like to get to know you more." Erik blurted, after a few moments of silence.

"No," Saoirse responded, "I'm not seeing anyone." After all, she wasn't stupid—her and Robert would never publicize their relations, and Erik would be a good coverup.

"Neither am I. So, uh..." Erik stuttered. "Do you want to go out this Friday?"

"This Friday..." Saoirse paused. Oh, she thought, what the hell. "Sure, Erik." The two neared her house, and Saoirse couldn't help but realize that Robert's car, along with some others, were lined up in his roundabout driveway. "I can do Friday."

Erik beamed. "Okay, great! Then I'll call you."

"Uh-huh."

Erik followed Saoirse's gaze to Robert's house and then looked back at Saoirse. "Is Robert Lewandowski still your neighbor?"

Saoirse blinked. "Yeah, he is. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Do you two know each other? I remember—"

"No, not really. I used to babysit his daughter and that's it. I have to go, Erik...I have a lot of stuff to do. Thanks for walking me."

"It's no problem." Erik responded, with a smile. He lived on the other side of the city, a neighborhood the exact opposite of Saoirse's, but at least he got his date.