Days passed, and Erin hadn’t returned to the duplex, which was quite a relief. I wouldn’t have to put up with the weirdness and the smug look on her face for knowing my secret.
I had no lectures, so I decided to spend the rest of the day at home studying. Exams were on the way in a few weeks. Since Mr. Clinton promised not to rat me out for missing my last test, I would have to make up for it…
“Xavier, my driver hasn’t arrived. Won’t you call him?” Miss Ross’s voice echoed from downstairs. “I hope you haven’t hired some incompetent…”
“Oh, Mother, please be patient…” I heard Mr. Clinton cutting her off.
I snorted at the mother and son bickering; the house had been more lively ever since her arrival… It made me see another frustrated side of Mr. Clinton, and honestly, I loved the look on his face when his mother taunted him…
I chuckled, grabbed my bathrobe, and made my way to the bathroom, only to find out that the water system was faulty.
I rolled my eyes, sighing as I kept pummeling the tap, doing what I could to get it to start working, but all was futile.
I guess I would have to use someone else’s bathroom today, and that person would be none other than Mr. Clinton.
My lips instantly curled up, my eyes squinting in excitement as I dashed out of my room.
Climbing down the stairs, I saw Miss Ross pacing back and forth in the living room. Her face was scrunched up, one hand resting on the other as she kept glancing at her phone.
“I am running late for God’s sake; where is he…” she muttered, blinking her eyes in exasperation.
“Good morning, Miss Ross…” I greeted, snapping her attention toward my direction. She frowned a bit before her face lit up with a warm smile. “Good morning, Sarah… and…” She paused, her brow furrowing. “Why are you just getting downstairs? You made me eat something completely different this morning…”
“Oh…” I smiled awkwardly. Yeah, I woke up late again. “I’m sorry I slept a little late last night…” I responded, walking up to her, my hand wrapping around her arm. “I promise I’ll make it up to you when you get back. I’ll treat you to a nice meal…”
She nodded, seeming satisfied. “Okay… that driver still hasn’t arrived yet…” She snapped back to her earlier annoyance while sitting on the sofa.
“Where is Mr. Clinton?” I asked, scanning the whole room. “I thought I heard his voice a while ago…”
“He went upstairs so he could ignore me. Instead of thinking of a way to contact him, he told me to be patient…” She went on and on complaining, and I just rubbed her shoulders to calm her down.
“Let me go check on him and make sure he contacts him, okay…” I told her and scampered to his bedroom.
I gently knocked on his door, but there was no response. “Mr. Clinton, can I come in?” I was met with silence. I shrugged and pushed the door open, letting myself in.
My eyes darted over the room, but there was no sign of him, so I sauntered towards the open door leading to his bathroom.
My head bumped into a muscular chest; I flinched a bit, but my eyes widened when I caught the sight of a fair skin staring right at me. I bit my lips, my eyes slowly trailing upwards from his bare chest to his symmetrical face, then back down to those refined biceps that fed my eyes with infatuation.
What a sight to behold. His skin was sopping wet, glistening from the light hanging above us. And what was even more charming was what lay beneath his arms, lower from the pelvic region… Yeah, I could see the outline of his….
“Who let you in?” His voice jolted me from my thoughts, pulling me back to my senses.
I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Gosh, why did my eyes trail down there? That’s not ladylike at all… I inwardly berated myself, my lips pressing into a thin line.
“Hello…” He waved his hand over my face, bending slightly to meet the height difference. “I asked a question, and you better put yourself together…”
“I’m sorry…” I quickly apologized with an awkward smile.
He stepped back a little, creating a good distance between us. “Don’t ever come in here without permission…” he said sternly, his expression serious.
I rolled my eyes as I looked to the floor; it seemed he had thrown his nice personality out the window ever since that diary incident. All he had been was rude and explicitly showing the power dynamic between us…
“I knocked but got no answer, so I came in…” I interjected, crossing my arms.
He walked past me but not without flashing me a look of disapproval.
“My water system is faulty, so I came to ‘ask for permission’…” I said with emphasis, flexing my fingers.
“Permission for what?” he asked, opening his wardrobe without sparing me a glance.
“To use your bathroom…” I replied, widening my eyes in anticipation.
He slammed the door of his wardrobe, walking past me with a big “NO.”
Seriously? It wasn’t like I wanted to spend the whole day in his room or something…
“You want me to ask for permission for everything, and you keep declining,” I responded cheekily, following him around the room.
He turned to face me. “Go use Mother’s bathroom.”
“She usually locks her room, and she is going out…” I replied abruptly, crossing my arms.
He stared at me in silence, studying my expressions.
I, on the other hand, took the impasse as approval, even though it didn’t seem like it.
“Thank you,” I sang, and strode out the door without giving him much of a chance to argue.
It took me only a minute to gather my stuff and head to his room. I found him sitting on his bed, scrolling through his phone.
“Your mother is mad at you…” I told him in a low voice. “I thought I should inform you…”
When I was scampering to my room, the old woman was still pacing up and down, complaining about him non-stop…
“Shouldn’t you at least call the driver…” I added as he gave me the silent treatment.
“I have done that already; she will be done with her tantrums when the driver comes…” he replied without taking his eyes off the screen.
This mother and son were quite the entertainment.
I snorted and made my way to the bathroom.
Stripping off my clothes, I intended to spend the next hour immersed in a soapy warm bath, but mixing the soap dispenser turned out to be a mishap.
My feet slipped on the marble tile, causing me to trip, my knee colliding with the floor with a loud thud echoing through the place.
“Shit…” I cursed through gritted teeth as I groaned in pain. Fortunately for me, I held onto the walls to balance myself while falling, so it wasn’t a serious accident.
While I climbed to my feet, I heard heavy footsteps approaching; it sounded like running.
“Sarah, are you okay!” Mr. Clinton suddenly appeared at the door, his eyes widened with fear.
He immediately crouched beside me, his hand wrapping protectively around my arm.
“I’m fine,” I told him, holding his hand to balance myself, but I noticed his gaze was fixed on me-my body, to be exact… He suddenly pulled away, stepping back.
“I’m sorry…” he said, averting his eyes away from me.
My brow knitted in confusion as I tried to grasp the reason for his sudden repulsion…
Then it occurred to me…
I was completely naked…