The Housekeeper, Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Jess
I wasn’t in love with the idea of wearing just a bikini.
My initial thought had been to wear a sundress over my swimwear, but I ended up changing my mind once I had a moment to myself. Hannah was a lot older than I expected, which meant my game plan needed to change. What if she thought I was a total prude by not doing what she suggested and matching her? She had also suggested I would be ‘boring’ if I didn’t get in the pool. A teenager’s opinion of me really shouldn’t matter, especially not from one I’m supposed to have authority over, but I was still determined to make a good impression.
If I could connect with her, get her to respect me more as a peer than an uptight adult, then maybe the rest of the summer would go more smoothly. After all, I tended to trust advice from friends. If she viewed me as such, then I could gently nudge her away from anything her parents wouldn’t approve of. It would be a delicate line to walk, but I could already tell that my height was going to be a big issue now that I was a lot closer in age to my charge than I expected. I was technically older, but Hannah towered over me!
“Get my back, Jessie?” Hannah asked. She gestured to the sunscreen sitting on the small table next to her chaise lounge chair. Rather than turning away and scooting over so I could sit behind her and apply the lotion, she proceeded to lie down on her stomach and reach back with one hand to untie the strings on her top.
I flinched at the use of ‘Jessie.’ It was the second time she had said it, and the second time I was reluctant to correct her. The first had been back at the front door, where she had bounded off before I could say anything else. I was left to haul all my things inside and park my car in what I hoped was an acceptable spot. This time around, I was immediately distracted by the blonde’s totally bare back as she pulled her hair over her shoulder so all of her fair skin was on display. It was less about what I could currently see, and more about the fact that one wrong move might give me an inappropriate glimpse of her bare chest.
Still in that weird headspace where I didn’t want to start things off on the wrong foot, I bit my tongue about everything. Instead, I grabbed the nearest chair and pulled it up so I could sit right next to the girl. “So, I guess we’re stuck together all summer, huh?” I said, trying to make light of this arrangement in an effort to connect with her. Ultimately, my goal was to spin things as ‘I’ll stay out of your way as long as you behave,’ but I needed to work my way there.
“Guess so,” Hannah replied. Now that she was settled, she lay perfectly still. Waiting for me to get to it, probably.
If only she gave me something to work with. A chuckle, a more full reply. That was my system for new babysitting jobs–get a read on their attitude, their humor, whatever I could use to figure out whether I needed to be easy-going or stern. “This is going to be a little cold,” I said. Cringing immediately at the patronizing warning, I squeezed a decent amount of lotion onto my hand and hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.
Once again, nothing. When she didn’t reply at all, I tentatively placed my hand on her back so the majority of the sunscreen was centralized. I should have expected it, but her skin was so warm. The sun would do that, of course, but it gave me enough pause that she mistook my hesitation for something else entirely. “You’re not a lesbian, are you, Jessie?”
What?! “NO.” My response came out a lot more harsh than I expected. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with liking girls–I have several friends that are gay or bi–but Hannah’s question was just so blunt and out of the blue. “No. I’m straight.” I lowered my voice to a more normal level. While it might have been worth explaining that it was more that I felt awkward about this kind of contact with a girl I was supposed to be babysitting, I made a snap decision that ‘less is more.’ Instead, I chose something else to focus on. “And it’s ‘Jess.’”
“Jeez, no need to freak out about it. I just wanted to check. When I’m home alone, I like to be comfortable. Good to know you won’t be ogling me or anything.”
Comfortable? Like . . . ? I barely registered the subtle idea that she considered herself ‘home alone’ when I was literally going to be there. Instead, I found myself dwelling on what the girl meant. Just because I wasn’t into girls didn’t mean I wanted Hannah walking around in, well, whatever she wanted. “Comfortable, how?” I asked. Little by little, I found myself bailing on the ‘friend’ plan and slipping into the babysitter role I was more comfortable with. It was only after I asked for clarification that I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. Spreading out the sunscreen with my hand, I worked on making it even before rubbing it in.
Hannah let out a sigh before explaining. “I don’t know; it depends. Long tee and nothing else? Sports bra for a workout? A towel if I haven’t picked out an outfit yet? I mean, it doesn’t really matter. We’re both girls, so it’s not that big of a deal. Right?”
“Umm . . .” Technically, no. I had seen plenty of friends like that. Well, maybe not the t-shirt thing. Still trying to figure out this whole dynamic, I tried to split the difference. “I guess not,” I said, “But maybe get dressed before coming downstairs?”
She simply replied with, “Well see.”
Noncommittal. Great. I went quiet, focusing on Hannah’s back. Since I wasn’t there when she applied the rest, I made sure to hit her shoulders and sides, just in case. As for her lower back, I only went so far down after the ‘lesbian’ question. She was certainly capable of getting that last area herself, and it was important to keep up boundaries. If I had it my way, this wouldn’t be happening at all, but it’s not like I could deny the girl protection from the sun.
By the time I was finished, I could already feel my own skin heating up. Unlike Hannah, I hadn’t put on any sunscreen yet. Sitting up and informing the blonde that she was all set, I quickly rubbed the excess lotion on my shoulders. Before I could get much farther, she shifted her head to face me. “So, Jessie. Fuck any guys lately?”
What?!
Similar to her question about my sexuality, I was completely taken aback. Feeling a blush coming on, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “That’s none of your business.” The truth was, I was a virgin. It was a bit embarrassing for my age, especially since it’s not like I was a prude or saving myself. I had gotten to second and third base a handful of times, but those short-lived relationships never felt serious enough to go all the way.
Plus, even if I had slept with someone or multiple someones, what kind of question was that? Hannah and I just met. It would be one thing if she had asked if I was seeing someone, but that wasn’t at all what she said.
“Whatever,” she replied, “It’s just sex. I don’t know why people have to be so weird about it. Want to hear about who I fucked last weekend?”
“No!” I exclaimed. Once again, a little louder than I had intended. “You-” I began, before changing course. There was one thing I was dying to know, especially since Hannah was somewhat topless as she lay on her untied bikini top. “How old are you, Hannah?”
To my relief, she said, “I’m eighteen. You?”
The good news was, that made it more acceptable to see her in any number of ways that would otherwise be less appropriate. I had seen my fair share of undressed women in the locker room, after all, though I preferred to change in a stall. The bad news was, I had been hired to babysit an eighteen year old?? How on earth did that not come up when her parents and I discussed the job? It might have been my fault for not asking, or their fault for not looking closely enough at my website. No matter where the blame fell, I was apparently supposed to be in charge of a girl who was practically the same age as me!
I wanted to lie, but decided against it. Since I was going to be there for the next six weeks, there was a good chance I’d accidentally contradict myself at some point. “I’m twenty,” I confessed. Silver lining, Hannah had been told I was a ‘housekeeper.’ If she knew the truth, I could only imagine how insulted she might feel. And how difficult it would be to make her listen to me. Well, that was going to be an issue either way.
“Oh, cool. Hey, would you mind putting some snacks together? I have some friends coming over in a few minutes.”
Wait, what? “Hannah!” I exclaimed. She had said it so casually, but that’s not at all how I felt about the information sprung on me. “I didn’t-” My voice caught my throat. UGH. Since I wasn’t officially her babysitter, why would she need me to approve an invitation like this? I was quickly finding myself in a difficult position thanks to her parents’ insistence on this charade. “How many friends?” I asked. Thankfully, years of experience had taught me to be quick on my feet, and I pivoted. “Look, you need to ask me about this kind of stuff ahead of time. Otherwise, I can’t do my job as well.”
Hannah sighed. Taking care to grab her bikini top before doing so, she sat herself up. “Jessie. You’re my housekeeper. Isn’t that right?”
‘No. I’m your babysitter.’ If only. “Yes, that’s right,” I nodded. For now. First chance I got, I was going to give her parents a call and try to work this out. Either I needed to be able to tell Hannah why I was really here, or they needed to tell her that she had to listen to me. “And it’s Jess.”
“Then please do your job,” she said, “Snacks and drinks. You should also bring out some towels for us, and maybe some more sunscreen? There might not be enough in this tube for everyone.”
Oh, God. She was talking to me like a servant. Swallowing my pride, I nodded again. “Of course, Hannah. I’ll be right back.”
Not wasting another second with the presumptuous blonde, I went back inside. I had no intention of actually following the girl’s orders. My phone was just up in my room, and I also no longer felt comfortable wearing a bikini. It was one thing when I was trying to get Hannah to warm up to me, but she clearly didn’t see me as much of a friend. That, and apparently her friends were going to be there soon. I’d have better luck compelling respect if I dressed like the young adult that I was, rather than trying to hang out at the pool like ‘one of the girls.’
Closing the bedroom door behind me, I grabbed my phone from the top of the dresser and called the number on the mobile note I had made about the summer job’s details. Straight to voicemail. “Fuck,” I huffed. They could be on a plane, or simply enjoying their vacation if they were already there. I hated leaving voicemails, so I just sent off a text politely asking them to call.
I made short work of stripping off my bikini and tossing on a skirt/blouse combo that was one of my favorites. Just for good measure, I added a pair of heels. Normally I wouldn’t wear shoes inside, but I was feeling extra self conscious about my shortness compared to Hannah.
The entitled eighteen year old had said ‘soon,’ but I didn’t realize just how soon she meant. By the time I made it downstairs, I practically ran into an unfamiliar redhead as I turned the corner. She was wearing short shorts and a bikini top, and I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if that’s how she drove. Before I could get out a word, she said, “Oh! You must be the new housekeeper. Is that your car out front? You should probably move it before it messes up everyone’s parking.”
Shit. I had hauled all my stuff up to the guest bedroom, but hadn’t found a chance to park my little sedan properly. It’s not even that I had forgotten about it; I just wanted to ask Hannah if I could have one of the garage spots. With no idea how many people were coming over, and with at least one already here, there wasn’t any more time for that. I ran up to grab my keys, then hopped in my car as soon as possible. Two other empty vehicles were already out there, and I maneuvered mine to line up with the others on the opposite side of the driveway.
Hurrying back inside, not wanting to leave the girls unattended for too long, I made a beeline for the pool. My initial plan of calling Hannah’s parents had failed, and preparing refreshments for everyone would solidify a subservient image of me in her eyes. Instead, I strutted outside in the hopes that I could pull her away from her friends for a quick one-on-one. I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to say yet, but I’d figure something out. I was a professional babysitter, after all.
Right away, I was faced with the exact kind of situation I had been hired to prevent. Hannah, the redhead, and one other girl were all sitting together and drinking. Like, drinking. All three of them were holding hard seltzers, which was absolutely unacceptable. Day one on the job, and I was already failing miserably. The ‘housekeeper’ role was working against me, and my charge was illegally drinking under my watch.
“HANNAH.” Raising my voice, I began storming over. “Absolutely not. Your parents were very clear about the house rules when they hired me.”
“Relax, Jessie,” Hannah said. Her bikini was tied up again, thank God, which made it easy for her to stand up and meet me halfway. Despite my heels, she still had a good bit of height on me. “They don’t have to know, do they? I won’t tell them. You won’t tell them. So, what’s the problem?”
“It’s Jess. Get it right,” I insisted. Narrowing my eyes and not letting the fact that I had to look up to match her gaze deter me, I continued. “And no, I’m not going to cover for you. But if you hand it over, this can just be a warning. Okay? Otherwise, I’m going to have to call your parents.”
“Ooh, call my parents? So scary!” she giggled for a second, before going totally deadpan. “Fuck off. This is my house, and you can’t tell me what to do.”
“Yes. I can.” Screw this. I tried the ‘housekeeper’ cover story. It clearly wasn’t working. Maybe coming clean and embarrassing her in front of her friends would do the trick. As a former teenager, I could only imagine how it might sound to hear that you still need a babysitter. Eight or eighteen, some attitudes need a firm adjustment. “Hannah, I-”
But that’s as far as I made it. Out of nowhere, she dropped her can and shoved me with both hands. Hard. Unable to react quickly enough, I stumbled backwards only to find no ground waiting for me. Gasping at the way too late realization, I fruitlessly flailed my arms to no avail before plunging into the pool behind me.
My body submerged completely and I scrambled to upright myself and resurface. The section of the pool was too deep to find any footing, so I had to awkwardly tread in my clothes once my head was above water. The other two girls were sitting there with dropped jaws, before finally giggling as they came back to reality. Meanwhile, Hannah was just smirking down at me as she picked up her partially spilled drink for a victory sip.
I was furious. FURIOUS. But I couldn’t yell at her from the pool. Plus the chlorine was going to ruin my clothes and my contacts. Ugh, and my hair. It clung to part of my face in what I had to assume was an unattractive way, and I quickly pushed it to the side as I paddled to the nearest ladder. My heels caught on one of the metal steps, and I was pissed off enough that I cared a lot less about my height than before. Quickly undoing the straps and pulling them off, I climbed out of the pool barefoot with shoes in hand.
“Hey!” I yelled. My clothes clung to my body, and I was dripping all over. I didn’t need a mirror to know that I must look ridiculous, but I tried my very hardest to be intimidating anyway. “Laugh while you can. I’m going to take a shower, and then you’re going to be in deep shit.” It felt lame threatening an eighteen year old like that, but what other ammo did I have? Trying not to lose steam, I added on, “Your friends better be gone by the time I’m back, or else.”
“Whatever you say, Jessie,” Hannah said, “Now, go get naked.”
Not dignifying that with a response, even though it’s technically what I was about to do in order to rinse off, I marched back to the house. Normally, I would care a lot more about dripping inside, but I was over it at this point. What was I thinking? Of course I wouldn’t be able to control an eighteen year old rich girl. At this point, I was strongly considering quitting. I had never bailed on a job before, and I had dealt with some pretty awful kids over the years. But a whole summer of this? It was good money, but Hannah wasn’t some tween! For the life of me, I couldn’t think of a way to course correct without involving her parents. It would make me look so weak, relying on someone else in order to achieve authority. Groaning to myself after the glass door was fully closed behind me, I made my way upstairs, being careful not to let my bare feet slip out from underneath me on the way up the stairs.
The warm water helped. Not with the Hannah situation; it was just nice to have a moment to myself. To breathe, to calm down. Thank goodness I had taken a minute earlier to set the hallway bathroom up for myself. While I didn’t mind getting the rest of the house a little wet, I would hate to do that to my own room and give the smirking blonde the satisfaction.
I couldn’t believe Hannah’s audacity! What if my phone had been in my pocket? Plus, any kind of water was terrible for contact lenses. Thankfully, I had some spares lying around, so I could go grab a fresh pair while the current ones sat in solution. My wet clothes monopolized the towel racks for a moment, though I’d be running them through the wash the moment I was done showering. Initially, I had planned to be quick about it, but eventually settled into the idea that the longer I stayed behind the fogged glass doors, the longer I could pretend the outside world didn’t exist.
Eventually, however, I had to face the music. The voices through the bathroom window were a pretty good indicator that Hannah hadn’t listened to me in terms of sending her friends home. I could only hope that my long shower had given her parents enough time to check their messages so I could reach them momentarily. Turning off the water and finding myself twice as blind as usual thanks to the blurry vision and the heavy steam around me, I pushed open the door.
No.
No, no, no.
How could I have been so stupid?! Even with my poor eyesight, I could see what was wrong: The entire bathroom was empty. No clothes on the racks, no stack of towels on the sink where I left them; nothing. Even the towel that had previously been laid on the floor to prevent dripping had been taken. This had to be Hannah, or one of her friends. And I couldn’t help but blame myself a little bit–leaving the door unlocked? Horrible move.
I hated being seen naked. It’s why I changed privately no matter the setting. I mean, I’m confident enough about my body, but it’s MY body. And I could already imagine a gaggle of girls waiting on the other side of the bathroom door, cameras aimed to capture every second of my exposure. Hell, I was lucky they hadn’t quietly been waiting in here. With that in mind, I was extra careful as I peeked my head farther out of the shower.
Wait, there was something in here! On the back of the door. A towel, or a robe, or something. I couldn’t see very well, but I immediately let out a sigh of relief when I realized Hannah missed something. Taking a second to brush as much water off my bare form as possible, I wrapped my arms around my private areas and padded across the bathroom, bracing myself for someone to barge in at any second. The tile on the outside of the shower was a lot cooler than on the inside, and I grimaced as the bottoms of my feet dealt with the cold, hard surface. Without the warm steam, my nipples almost instantly stiffened as I delicately moved forward.
Once I made it a few feet away from the warmth and safety of the fogged glass, the blurry thing on the door came into view enough for me to make out what it was. My heart sank and my cheeks flushed at what I saw.
Hannah had left me a fucking french maid dress.
For a second, I froze. The dots weren’t difficult to connect. I was supposed to be her housekeeper, so she wanted me to dress up like a subservient little maid. But what else could I do?! I was tempted to scream out her name, but the last thing I wanted to do while buck naked was draw attention to myself. And hiding in the bathroom wouldn’t do anything for me. Wrapping the outfit around myself as a towel crossed my mind, but it looked small and that felt too risky if I ended up outnumbered even two to one. Ugh, why did it have to be frosted glass for the shower? If there was a curtain, I could use that as my makeshift towel/bathrobe.
Groaning more loudly than before in pure frustration, I snatched the hideous thing from the door. What other choice did I have?
I was going to put it on.