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Teach Me How To Kiss (1D AU)

Janet The Sitter

We pulled up to the North Point Apartments on Stockton Street and began unloading some of the luggage while Janet stayed in the car; to avoid parking elsewhere. It was a bit overwhelming, moving into this big complex, but once we established where my apartment number was everything settled in to place. I was in 170 sorting my things while Liam traveled back and forth for the rest. Looking around my very own studio and admiring the cozy size with the small kitchen, den and bedroom; it was the right size for me…and Janet temporarily.

Although the couch didn't look miserably uncomfortable for sleeping, I had no problem sharing my full bed with Janet; we were tiny enough. Standing in the balcony, I gazed at the outdoor pool and grassy patio. I was growing fond of this place already

The trees and benches looked so peaceful, even my inner most thoughts surfaced to take a peek. I hadn't told Liam about my unexpected phone call from Harry. Although I was confident about my feelings for Liam, I was afraid that if I merely mentioned the call it would be followed by a sum of questions I didn't want to answer right away. I honestly didn't want to even think about it. I was forcing myself to forget and continue as though it had never happened.

We decided to get a bite to eat down Bay Street before grocery shopping. Spotting a quaint Italian restaurant, we scarfed down some fine bread and pasta that left us full enough to last us the rest of the afternoon. Unfortunately Liam was only able to stay with us that night as he had to go back to base; he was notified of another training program. Even though I was looking forward to some sightseeing with him, I understood…the military life was quite unpredictable. Plus, Liam got away with a lot for the many times he escaped to visit me. Still I knew it would probably be a month or more till I would see him again.

The next days consisted of Janet and I driving around like tourists. We saw the famous Golden Gate Bridge and snapped phone pics of ourselves in front of it. We then strolled by the piers before driving down the Embarcadero; the road I'd have to take to get to the culinary school. Then I swung by to pick up my baking tools, white coat and cap. Everything was sinking in.



I made it to my class 15 minutes early, eager to meet our Chef instructor and start baking. There were already a dozen students, including a brunette that sat beside me. She looked a couple of years older. Once the Chef came in and gave us our handouts to review the sanitary and safety regulations we were soon introduced to our tools and cooking terminology. The Chef, Enrico, was a funny Italian guy. I knew this would be a great class; and with that our first assignment was on cutting and proper measurements.

Too distracted to make any conversation, still throughout the course of the class the brunette and I buddied up. Her name was Amy and we planned to go to the Starbucks on the corner of the street for our lunch break. We left our white coats and things back in the classroom and without hesitation we began chit chatting right away.

"So Amy are you from here?" I began.

"I am. I've been living here for 5 years; originally from San Diego. How about you?"

"I'm originally from Seattle. I moved to California with my mom about 3 years ago."

"Nice, so is it just the two of you here?" she asked as we walked in the shop and straight for the line.

"Oh no, I actually moved here to San Francisco last week with my friend-sister Janet," I could tell I was only confusing her.

"Is she going to college here too?" she spoke very slowly trying to understand.

"No she's… kind of taking a break. In fact she's actually looking for a job to keep her busy."

"Nice, anything in particular?"

"Probably waitressing…oh and babysitting! She seemed to really enjoy that with Rhea," I mentioned the little girl as if Amy knew her. My bad.

"Nice…actually if she's interested, I have a friend who could really use a babysitter."

"Really?" My eyes widened at the opportunity. "I'm sure she would love that, even if it was temporary."

"Yes, let me give you Ian's number to give to your friend."

I was excited to share the news with Janet and perhaps ease her mind on already having a job lined up. Even though I didn't know Amy too well and much less this so called 'Ian', but I felt like this was fate. Besides I'll let Janet make the judgment call. Getting further acquainted with Amy, I found out she too is an only child though 24 years old. We spoke a little longer and before we knew it we had to head back and finish off the day.

When I walked into my new apartment, haven't fully recovered from the change of scenery, I found Janet looking at a stack of newspapers with her laptop out on the coffee table.

"Any luck?" I asked trying to keep from smiling too much.

"Well, I made some calls for a few restaurants in the area but none of them are hiring," she said looking discouraged.

"How long have you been at it?" I sat beside her looking at the pen markings on the employment ads.

"Few hours and it seemed like forever…but it's only the first day. I'll try again tomorrow."

"Well, I made a friend today and she gave me this guy's number," I took the piece of paper out of my pocket. "He's a single dad looking for a babysitter…" I waited to see if she was interested.

"Really! That would be perfect! Beats not doing anything for right now; how old is the child?"

"He has a son, I think he's 5."

"Cool, do you think I could call now?"

"I don't see why not," I shrugged and smiled.

Janet took her phone and went out on the balcony, so I went to take a shower and hoped to hear a good update when I was done. Only, she walked right in mid-shower.

"So I'm going to meet with the dad in a park tomorrow. Please come with me?!" she pleaded.

"At what time?" I said poking my head out from the shower curtain.

"He said at 4 o'clock."



I reported back to Amy the next day during class; I was excited that our job arrangement might turn out successful for our friends. And as if that wasn't a good start to our day, Enrico instructed us to make a dozen cupcakes for our next lesson, surely to be icing on the cake…get it?

I loved culinary school and was so happy to get to do this every day for the next couple of months. On another note, I also got to talk with Liam during my lunch break and could tell he was stressed out about work…and that was VERY rare. He had discussed something with his First Sergeant but was withheld information. Upset or not, he was still sweet to me no matter how bothered he seemed.

Later that day when I arrived home, Janet was waiting ready to meet up with the dad. I had almost forgotten as I was too mesmerized by my class calendar. While Janet drove around trying to find the park, I was staring at the calendar dates and paused in random worry.

"Wait what date is it?" I thought aloud.

"Huh? It's the 15th, I think," Janet replied.

I didn't care for her answer; I knew what date it was.

"I'm late. I'm never late," I mumbled.

"Late for what? You have a project to do already?" Janet kept interrupting my monologue.

"Oh crap!" I gasped, still whispering loudly.

"Wha-? Oh there's the park!"

Janet parked the car by a toddler playground. I could see a school across the street so I only assumed that the boy went there. There were kids with their parents or nannies I guess. I saw a man standing next to a swing with what looked like a 5 year old; that fit the description. I walked a couple of steps behind Janet as she approached the him.

"Ian?" she questioned politely.

"Yes, hello," he smiled and shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Janet. And this is my friend Brynn who takes classes with Amy."

"Right. Hello Brynn." He shook my hand as well.

He seemed friendly and reserved. He was a handsome dad; tousled hair and scruffy. He was in his mid-thirties, wearing a plain grey shirt and jeans. I caught a glimpse of the dimple in the center of his chin and I was instantly reminded of my fondness for them. But that thought was violated by my previous worry and I knew I had to make a pharmacy run.

I looked around the area, disinterested in Janet's conversation with Ian. When suddenly I spotted the cursive W from Walgreens and thought now was my chance.

"Sorry, I'll be right back," I said touching Janet's arm.

I briskly walked towards the store, noticing this 'power walk' was really working out my calves once I got there. I headed straight for the goodies. Rolling my eyes at the boxes of condoms, I quickly grabbed the most reliable looking pregnancy test I could find. I fiddled with the box, contemplating if I should do it right then and there. Once I read that it only took 2 minutes, I asked the closest employee where the bathroom was.

Now when I said reliable, I meant it. This was the kind of test where you read "pregnant" or "not pregnant". I wasn't playing any games with those stupid confusing vertical lines. So I followed the instructions, peed on the stick and laid it on top of the toilet tank. I stared at it and waited but that was torture. I walked out of the stall and washed my hands then barged back in…still nothing. These were the longest 2 minutes of my life.

I was beginning to rehearse what I'd tell my mom or Liam. This would ruin me. I walked back in and was stunned by the blank screen still. Surely it was 3 minutes by now. I looked at the spare stick in the box and thought I should just try again later.

"Reliable my ass!" I complained as I went to pay for the worthless box.

When I got back, I saw Janet and Ian still talking. As soon as I walked closer, it sounded like they had already finished with the important details.

"Ok well, it was nice to meet you both. I will contact you Janet and thank you once again… Say good bye, Conner."

"Buh bye," the little boy waved.

We waved back and walked toward the car.

"He seems nice," I commented.

"Yeah he does! Conner is so cute too. This is going to be fun. So he needs me to pick Conner up and let him play at the park a little while before taking him home."

"Is this every day?" I asked curiously.

"He works odd hours so he said he'd text me and let me know. I'm pretty flexible, my calendar is wide open," Janet smiled.

I cooked a quick meal of couscous with chicken and spinach that evening. All I could think about was the glowing stick of salvation that remained tucked in my purse. I hoped that it was a good one since its twin had failed me. I did some reading on the internet and discovered the best time was first thing in the morning, so I was back to a plan; needless to say that I slept horribly that night.



My second weekend in San Francisco but now I had no partner to roam the city with. Janet was scheduled to babysit Conner on Friday and Saturday. And while the thought of accompanying her did seem tempting, the urge to keep exploring the city was greater. I had a great reason to celebrate… the stick read "not pregnant". Whew!

After riding the awesome cable car, probably freaking people out with my goofy smile, I went to Union Square. I was having a good time just people watching and window shopping, but I couldn't afford anything I liked. So much for shopping; though I did suffer quite the scare…

As I was looking for a cheaper place to dine, a couple of feet in front of me was a brown haired boy who looked shockingly similar too Harry. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but when I got a few steps closer on purpose, I realized it wasn't him but the resemblance was uncanny. I even blushed a bit once he looked back at me and bolted in the other direction.

To redeem myself, I tried calling Liam and couldn't get a hold of him. Rats! So I waited at my table in a Japanese restaurant, about to text Janet to see how her evening was going. It was 7 o'clock and she had to put Conner to bed soon, but they were cuddling watching cartoons for the moment. Good babysitter.

Waiting for my order, I kept playing with my phone and reading my past text conversations…scrolling and reading…more scrolling. Then I thought "screw it". I pressed my ear against my phone and counted how many times it rang; planning to hang up after the 4th one.

"Heyyyy. This is a surprise."

"I know right…"

"So this means things are cool with us or else you wouldn't have called, right?"

"Right. I mean I know our 'attempts' at being friends have been pretty lousy but…"

"So how's San Fran treating you?"

"It's been great so far," I sighed in satisfaction.

"Have you finished my cake yet?" Harry chuckled.

"Your cake…oh right! Well you just be sure to make that CHECK out in my full name…"

"You're going to charge me? Hah! I figured you owed me, since you missed my birthday…"

"Hah!" I mocked him. "You missed mine too! What do I get?"

"You get a piece of my chocolate cake," I could picture his grin smacked across his face.

My food finally came and even though my stomach was growling in hunger, I ate slowly so that I could keep talking. I was more comfortable with our conversation this time…friendly talk and nothing more. A few flirty comments would escape from Harry's mouth every now and then but that's just who he was; I was used to it.

We surprisingly talked for about an hour. Now before you point the finger at me, you must know it was completely INNOCENT on my behalf. I even talked, more like bragged, about Liam. Harry was pretty cool about it too. Maybe we would be better friends this time after all.



A month had passed and I was well adapted to my new routine. School was amazing. My knowledge and technical skills were improving; motivating me more day after day. Janet was doing wonderfully as Conner's beloved nanny although Mr. Ian was quite the mysterious character. It turns out he had something up his sleeve.

One day as Janet and I were walking around we passed a bookstore and I watched her jaw drop when she saw the father's face plastered on a poster board promoting a book on the display window. Frederick Ian Murray, Conner's dad, was a writer. And according to what I read there, this was his second book. When I asked Janet if she knew, she shook her head in disbelief.

Each time she came back from Mr. Murray's place, after learning he was a local star, she wouldn't shut up about him. She'd ramble about how nice he was or how handsome he looked in his turtle neck shirt as he was about to go to a book signing. When I asked her why he hadn't told her before, she assumed he didn't want to make a big deal of himself. That made sense.

Now while I was glad my friend had a job she liked and a new hobby of crushing on Conner's dad; I was a little worried. He was handsome, he was single and he was older…with a 5 year old son. Knowing Janet, she was not one to make any stupid moves or hint about her silly feelings. She was happy to just babysit his son, but if she got too comfortable, I worried she might do it for free.

It was Janet's birthday and we had decided to go out to eat during the day, because believe it or not, she scheduled another babysitting night with Conner…on her birthday! Well, I guess any girl's wish would be to see her crush on her special day. I could relate.

Back at the apartment that night, I was enjoying a lazy evening eating a few brownies I had just made and watching TV. I still thought Janet was crazy for babysitting instead of hanging out with me but whatever. I went into the kitchen to refill my glass of milk when my phone rang on the coffee table.

"Hey girl, I was beginning to think you fell off the planet," I joked.

"Brynnnnn," Lilah moaned, I could tell she had been crying.

"Lilah what's wrong? Are you ok?" This was weird.

"Brynn, I screwed up…I …I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Lilah calm down. What happened? What's going on?"

"I went to this party yesterday with some friends from college. And at first I had a couple of drinks but I don't know why I kept drinking…I'm so stupid Brynn!"

I thought the worst, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"Brynn, I woke up in some guy's bed this morning. I'm pretty sure I had sex with him last night. I haven't left my room all day. I feel so awful I don't know what to do!"

I could hear Lilah's tormenting regret in her voice, but the damage was done. And while she was my friend, Louis was like my brother. It wasn't my place to tell him but hers. I just felt sick to my stomach; I thought they were surely the next to be married. Knowing Louis's past, cheating was an unforgivable sin. At the same time I felt Lilah's sorrow, alcohol does take over when you give it that much control.

That phone call left me uneasy. Immediately linked to hidden guilt of talking with Harry behind Liam's back; I knew that had to stop…it wasn't okay. It was funny how all these little crazy things were happening to my friends around me but I was comfortable in my safe haven. Liam and I were about celebrate a year since our first kiss on New Year's, in a couple of months. That stability was exciting to me.



I had a glorious Tuesday. I did an excellent job on my cake presentation and tart samples for class. I was kind of a big deal. On top of that Liam texted that he would call me later that afternoon, adding to the splendidness of my good mood.

Later on, I got a text from Liam asking if he could call me. He also wanted to know where I was. I wrote him back that I was leaving the school, now being the perfect time. I had a minute or two before reaching the actual doors of the building but Liam hadn't called yet. I waved goodbye to my classmates as I pushed the door open and was in utter shock to find Liam waiting outside.

I shrieked and ran into his arms. My day was now perfect. Only his smile was hiding something…something big.

"Liam, what's wrong?" my intuition was blazing.

He gave me a sympathetic smile and I could see the worry in his eyes.

"We're being called out to Afghanistan," he swallowed hard and looked back down.

My hands were on his shoulders but I felt my eyes begin to water up. Not such a glorious day after all.

"When do you leave?" I swallowed hard too.

"In a month… to Afghanistan," That stung but there was still some time. "But we leave for South Carolina next week, to meet up with the rest of our battalion."

His words were like needles inserting through my ears. My eyes held no restraint as tears just streamed carelessly down my cheeks. There was nothing I could do, nothing he could do. We were just standing there in silence, swallowing the sand in our throats, or so it felt like, and facing the reality set before us…a harsh reality.

Notes

Ahh! There's so much going on!!!!

Sorry for the delay dolls, I've been quite overwhelmed with life. I do hope this chapter makes up for it.

So tell me what do you think about Janet and Lilah?

What do you think about Brynn's love triangle?

There's only a handful of chapters left...is the suspense killing you yet?! :>

muah!


Oh and this is the dashing Ian Murray... aka Conner's dad :)

Comments

Hi, I just finished reading this story and I thinks it's amaze balls!!! But please dont tell me it's finish and ur not gonna carry on.. Coz I really need to know what's gonna happen next. Coz u left us on a cliff hanger!!
I love the story!! plzz update if u can

This is one of the most amazing stories I've ever read. I hope you come back to update soon. Thanks for sharing!

OMG!!!!!! Please update soon the suspence is killing me !!!!!!

Oooh NO! Harry! Brynn! Hope they're both okay! Can't wait to read more!

Tierra Cooley Tierra Cooley
5/14/15

Nooooooooooo Harrrrrryyyyyyyy!!!!!!! Please don't die :,(

jasyjas18 jasyjas18
5/11/15