Meeting Aubrey (The Beginning)

Few things rivaled a New England summer. There were warm days and cool nights and if you were lucky enough to be near the ocean, the crashing waves and ocean breeze were great for setting one’s mind at ease. Thomas Weston was happy to be away from the craziness of the city, even if he was only forty-five minutes away from his house and office.

He and his wife, Rachel, had been lucky to borrow a friend's beach house for part of the summer. With four bedrooms, one for the kids, Lucy and Nathan, who were still young enough to share a room, and a private beach just outside the back patio, Thomas wondered if they’d ever want to leave.

It was late afternoon and despite needing to finish some work Thomas had other things on his mind. He was stalking someone, or rather, two someones. Tip-toeing down the hallway he gently cocked the Nerf gun in his hand as he rounded the corner into one of the rooms.

“Ah ha!” he shouted as he fired off two rounds at his kids who had already fortified themselves in the spare bedroom.

Needless to say, he was out matched and outgunned as Nerf rounds came barrelling toward him. Then as he ducked around the corner back out into the hallway the doorbell rang.

“Timeout!” he called, though Lucy and Nathan had already followed him out into the hallway to continue their attack.

“Is that her?!” they asked in unison as they finally registered the chiming bell.

Thomas checked his watch. Damn. He had lost track of time.

“Okay you two, clean up and try to seem less like children raised by wolves,” he teased.

Lucy let out a mock wolf howl and Nathan laughed before making a barking noise before they complied and began searching for the wild Nerf rounds that had been scattered about.

The doorbell rang again as Thomas jogged to the front door.

Opening the door Thomas was immediately taken off-guard. Standing before him was a tall, beautiful young woman in a cute flower print sundress, dark brown hair, striking blue eyes, and a tempting amount of cleavage that he figured was more the fault of the size of her breasts rather than the woman’s lack of modesty.

“Hi, you must be Aubrey,” he said, fumbling with the Nerf gun in his hand to free himself to greet her.

She responded with a big smile, before slipping her hand into his. “Yes,” she replied. “And you must be Mr. Weston?”

“Yes, but call me Thomas. ‘Mr. Weston’ reminds me of my father.” Thomas held her soft, delicate hand in his for a moment longer than he knew he should’ve before releasing it. “Please, come in.”

“Hands up!” cried a tiny, young voice behind him.

Thomas turned, but it was too late. Lucy’s gun was already pointed at him and the Nerf round flying his direction before he had a chance to respond. He tried to block it, catch it or just simply divert its trajectory, but with just one hand free it bounced and slipped past him toward Aubrey.

Fumbling and turning around Thomas watched in almost slow motion as the tiny yellow ball arched overhead and landed perfectly between Aubrey’s breasts and down the front of her dress.

Thomas again found himself lingering a little too long, this time with his eyes staring down at her chest before slowly dragging his gaze back up to those intoxicating eyes of hers. Her cheeks then turned a faint shade of red, hopefully in embarrassment and not anger-- not that either was the mood he wanted his potential new nanny to be in at the start of her time with them.

“I… I’m so sorry, um…” he stammered, at a loss for words. “Lucy,” he said, turning back around to his oldest. “What’d I say?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” she squeaked out before she dropped her head and darted off.

Thomas then turned back to Aubrey. “I’m so sorry. I totally lost track of time and they’re all wound up and…”

Aubrey then laughed as she reached in to fish out the tiny ball. “It’s totally fine. Plus, it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve caught something.”

Now it was Thomas’s turn to blush as he tried to look away.

“Wow, that didn’t come out right. I shouldn’t have said that. I…” Aubrey said now stammering.

Thomas laughed. “Don’t apologize. Believe me, it’s not the worst first meeting I’ve ever had, but I do apologize for Lucy, she’s our free-spirited one.”

“No need to apologize. She’s a kid and it’s summer.” Aubrey said with a smile.

“Well come on in. I’d like to say that was the last shot before the cease fire, but I can’t make any promises.”

“Wait, is that a Nerf Rival XX-800 blaster?” Aubrey asked as she reached for the gun at Thomas’s side.

Thomas looked down as she held it in-between them as the long barrel pointed up toward her. He swallowed hard as he watched her delicate fingers trace along the length of the gun, examining it, before he came to his senses.

“Uh, yeah, I think so. Here,” he said, finally handing her the gun. “it’s all yours.”

“Oh, really?” she said with a mischievous grin as she cocked her hip to the side and lifted the gun to her shoulder in a mock heroic pose. “Do you mind?” she asked as she looked back over her shoulder toward the hallway.

“Go for it. But be careful. They’re pretty good shots.”

“I’m not too bad myself,” she called out over her shoulder as she swiftly moved toward the hallway.