Room for Rent

Still, there was something about her that made her seem more attractive to him than her physical appearance, which was definitely more than adequate. Then again, she was so much older than him that the thought of there being anything between them beyond friendship seemed absurd.

And yet, were he even, say...30...then maybe, just maybe he'd ask her out. He'd never 'dated' anyone more than a couple of years older than himself, but he found Henley...intriguing. But he wasn't 30 or even close, and because of that and several other reasons like her being his landlord, that wasn't going to happen.

Once Trevor set his mind to something or made a decision, that was normally it, and yet over the course of the next two weeks he realized he hadn't put the issue of possibly asking Henley Lesco to go out with him to bed.

To bed. That was enough to make him laugh, but the more he learned about her, the more he found himself thinking about her, and not always just as his landlord. For the reasons he'd already thought of, it made no sense to him. But the thing that was even more troubling was the fact that he couldn't will himself not to think about her like that no matter how little sense it made.

He was also very aware that she'd begun using the elliptical machine nearly every morning from the day after he started classes. When he got up to get ready to go run, Henley would be on the elliptical tearing it up. She invariably smiled at him, and he always said something encouraging like, "Someone is trying to make herself even more irresistible!"

What Trevor didn't know was that Henley found herself having similar thoughts about her new tenant. They weren't 'racy' or even R-rated, but he she found him distractingly attractive to the point that it was driving her crazy.

But it was more than that. He was also kind, thoughtful, and extremely helpful. Even more important to her was the way her children had bonded with him, and that Trevor was making time available to do things with them nearly every day.

So when Henley told the kids to hurry up or she'd be late for work one very cold, mid-February morning, she was completely caught off guard by Trevor saying, "Why don't you let me take them to school? I go right by the place on my way to campus, and I go there every single day."

"I...I couldn't ask you to do that, Trevor. After all, they're my resp..."

He smiled, held up and hand, and before she could finish he reminded her that she hadn't asked.

"I'm offering, and it would be my pleasure. Besides, I really enjoy spending time with both of them, and this would give us a little extra. In fact, I could go pick them up, too, and it wouldn't inconvenience me one bit."

Henley knew him well enough by then to know he wasn't kidding or making a kind of rhetorical offer, and it touched her deeply; deeply enough that she teared up.

"Hey. What's going on?" Trevor asked as he walked over to her.

What was going on was that the children's father never did that. He not only wouldn't offer to do that after he moved out, that wasn't something he'd ever been willing to do when he lived there, even though his schedule was more flexible than hers.

He rarely took them on the weekend after moving out, and she couldn't remember the last time he called or did anything with them, and yet, here was this complete stranger offering to do something so out of the ordinary that it hit her like an emotional ton of bricks.

"I'm sorry," she said as the first tears fell.

Trevor grabbed a paper towel and went to hand it to her but instead he moved a little closer and gently dabbed under each eye.

"Is it something I said?" he asked with so much concern a second or two later that it only made things worse.

"Yes. No. I mean, it is, but in a good way," she said without being able to look at him.

When she finally did, she could tell he was confused so she explained the reason for her tears.

"I honestly don't understand him. He has two wonderful, amazing kids, and it seems like he doesn't even..."

"Hi, Trevor!" Jonah said, startling his mother and stopping her in mid-sentence.

"Hey, buddy! How'd you sleep last night?"

"Good!" the little boy replied just as Jennifer walked in and saw him.

"And there's the beautiful princess!" he said with a smile as she came over and hugged him.

"I hate to run, but we are late," Henley told him again.

"Just let me know, okay? I can start tomorrow or anytime," Trevor said.

"Let me think about it, okay?" she told him as she threw on her coat and grabbed her purse.

"Hey! Don't forget your lunches!" Trevor said, as he picked up the two paper bags Henley hadn't seen on the counter.

"Peanut butter and jelly for you," he told Jonah, "and ham and cheese for you, your highness," he said with a deep bow to Jennifer who giggled and thanked him.

Henley managed to get out the words, "Thank you," before a second round of tears started falling. He'd not only made their lunches but knew what they liked.

Trevor only smiled at her as he said, "Bye, guys!" to the kids who hollered back, "bye, Trevor!"

He walked over to the door and watched them get in the car through a small, thin pane of glass and for the first time in his life, Trevor found himself wondering what it would be like to have a family of his own. And to his surprise, the thought not only didn't scare him, it filled him with a sense of joy, a word he would normally never use about himself.

As he watched them drive away, he answered his own question.

"It would probably feel a lot like this."

That evening, Henley went to his room and asked if he was really willing to take the kids.

Before he could answer, she said, "That didn't come out right. I know you're a man of your word, and if you say something, you mean it. I guess what I was really asking was if you..."

"Yes. I'd love to," he told her, that same amazing smile on his face.

Henley thanked him then said, "I can pick them up on my way home, so if you could just drop..."

"Yes, you could. However, you have to drive three miles the wrong way to go get them, and they're on my way back to the house."

"Yes, that's true, but they stay at school for the aftercare program, so there wouldn't be anyone to watch them until I get home."

Trevor pretended to be Groucho Marx, did the cigar thing, then said, "No one? What am I, chopped liv-uh?"

He wasn't sure if Groucho even said that, but it got a big laugh from the older woman he was thinking about more and more these days.

"That's too much, Trevor. Dropping them off is one thing, but babysitting them for two hours? I can't ask you to do that."

He stood up, walked over to her, and for the first time ever, he put his hands on her. It was just on her shoulders, but he did that and smiled at her as he addressed her concerns.

"Again, you're not asking. I don't have any classes after 3 o'clock, and the kids are so well behaved it won't interfere with me studying. And besides, like I said, I enjoy being around them, so it's not only not a hardship, it'd be a pleasure."

Henley's heart was beating very fast as she stood just inches away from this very attractive younger man she thought about much too often. And now he was actually touching her. Not in any kind of romantic way, but just his hands on her shoulders made her body tingle from head to toe.

She briefly looked down then looked into his eyes again as she said, "I could reduce your rent each month."

"What? No. No way. You need that money. I managed to save quite a bit while I was on active duty, I work during the summer, and I have the GI Bill. I've budgeted very carefully, and I can afford to pay you, Henley. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"But that's so far 'above and beyond'," she weakly protested.

He gently ran his fingers up and down the backs of her arms then said, "I live here, too. Helping out is my responsibility. So it's not like you're taking advantage of me, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, barely able to say the word as her eyes rapidly moved between his when she spoke.

"So...we're good? I'll drop them off and pick them up every day, and if something ever comes up, I'll let you know in advance. Fair enough?"

"Yes?" she replied, a look of gratitude on her face.

"Thank you," Trevor told her.

"Wait. You're thanking me? I should be thanking you," she informed him.

Trevor's hands slowly began lowering, and for reasons Henley couldn't explain then or later on, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

After just a couple of seconds, she recoiled and started apologizing.

"That...I didn't mean...I'm so sorry, Trevor. I don't know why I..."

He didn't mean to laugh, but it did happen.

"You don't need to apologize," he told her with another warm smile. "Besides, I never get upset when a beautiful woman gives me a hug."

Henley's eyes opened wide in surprise before she made a spurting noise of some sort.

"Ha! Beautiful woman! That's too funny!" she said with much too much enthusiasm.

His quiet, sincere reply sent shivers down her back.

"No. There's nothing funny about it, Henley. It's just...true."

"You...you need to see a doctor or something," she told him, her brain awash in a flood of emotions that were making it even harder to think.

Trevor only smile again then said, "Okay. If you say so."

By the time she got back downstairs, Henley felt like she was someone else living in her own body. It made no more sense than Trevor's flirting, if indeed he even had really been flirting. But even that was too complicated for her to sort through, so she sat down and closed her eyes and took several long, slow breaths waiting for the feeling to pass.

But it didn't pass. Not then, not the rest of the evening, and it was still there the next morning when he came down to have a cup of coffee. She wasn't on the elliptical yet, and she was sitting at the kitchen table when he came in.

The weather was still very cold outside, so Trevor was wearing sweats.

"Am I late?" he asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"No. I...I'm just a little tired this morning. I didn't sleep all that well last night."

"You're not coming down with something, are you?" he asked as he took a first sip then sat down across from her.

Her very long, very straight, dark hair was in a ponytail, and Trevor was trying not to stare while somehow trying to look at her cheekbones as though they might hold the answer to why he found her more attractive each day.

"No. I'm not sick. I just had something on my mind. Something very...confusing," she replied truthfully.

"Good. In terms of you not getting sick," Trevor said before asking if he needed to be on some kind of list in order to pick up the kids each day.

"Yes. Oh, my gosh. I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"Maybe you should get them today and fill out whatever paperwork is needed so I can get them tomorrow?" he suggested.

Henley smiled at him then said, "You're a better parent to them than I am!"

It was said jokingly, but Trevor really was good with them, and had often helped them with either homework or by explaining what something Jennifer had read meant. Henley knew her daughter was stopping by his room and asking him questions in spite of having been asked not to—by her mother. But Trevor not only didn't mind, he seemed to enjoy being able to help out, so Henley stopped mentioning it.

"It's easy when they're as nice as Jennifer and Jonah."

"Well, they like you, too. A lot," Henley told him, wanting to add, "so do I."

"I like them a lot, too," Trevor said, and then he told her what she couldn't tell him.

"And...I like their mom a whole lot, too," he warmly told her with another amazing smile.

Henley almost choked on the sip of coffee she was taking, and Trevor wondered if he'd just offended her.

"I only meant..."

Henley was sure he was just being polite and told him she understood.

"I'm not delusional, you know," she told him with a laugh, but it was the kind of laugh that said there was...disappointment...in her words.

"I should probably hit the bricks," Trevor told her as he took a last sip before getting up.

"I'll get it," Henley said about his cup.

She knew he was going to rinse it out and put it in the dishwasher, and she wanted to take care of it for him—for once.

"Okay. Well...thank you," he told her.

"It's nothing. Literally. Considering all you do for me...for us...around here, this is...nothing."

"I'll see you in about 45 minutes then," Trevor told her. "You doing the elliptical?"

"Yes. Definitely. I'm really liking the way it makes me feel."

"I hope this isn't out of line, but it's doing wonders for the way you look, too," he told her with a wink and a smile before he headed outside in the cold morning air for another five-mile run.

The week passed with neither of them saying anything more that even sounded flirty, and Henley felt foolish for having ever so much as having a thought that he might actually be flirting with her. Her rational brain was now back in control, and she knew there was no way a guy that young and that attractive would ever even consider a woman like her, and yet she couldn't let go of the idea that somehow, someway, that might be possible.

It was that Friday evening that she noticed he'd left clothes in the dryer, something he'd never done before. She neatly folded them up and was carrying them upstairs when she heard his voice. He occasionally talked on the phone, but it was rare as his room was almost always silent except for the sound of a keyboard or a maybe a page turning.

She should have gone straight to the room, knocked, then set the clothes on his bed. But as she heard what he was saying, she stopped several feet away and just listened. The door was open, so she could hear every word he said quite clearly.

"No, she's actually very attractive. For an older woman."

Henley's heart 'froze' as her ears now strained to listen.

"Exactly. She just needs to do something with what God gave her."

She could only hear Trevor's end of the conversation, so each time the other person spoke, she could only wait for his response.

"Okay. For example I'd start with her hair. It's way too long for a woman her age. I don't know what would be the best look on her, but I recently saw a woman in a photo online somewhere with the most amazing hair I've ever seen, and I remember thinking that would great on her."

She heard Trevor laugh then say, "Yeah, yeah. I'm such a chick. Uh-huh. So because I know what style would might look good on a woman, that makes me a woman, too, right?"

She heard him laugh again then say, "Yeah. I'll send it to you. And while I'm looking for it, it would be nice if she softened her image a little. You know, maybe wear something a little more...feminine...instead of..."'

He didn't finish the sentence. Evidently he'd found what he was looking for.

"Ah. Here it is. I'm sending it now. Tell me what you think, okay?"

There was another pause then, "Well, maybe something softer instead of the jeans or the plain dresses she wears most of the time."

Initially, Henley assumed he was talking about her, but then she wasn't quite as sure until he mentioned the dresses. She wore very plain, single-colored dresses to work nearly every day. Mostly, that was due to not wanting to spend money on clothes for herself which wasn't a priority. But a part of it was also that she saw no reason to wear anything nicer let alone change her hairstyle. After all, there wasn't anyone at work she was trying to impress.

"Okay. Yeah. I thought you'd like it, and I think she'd look ever more beautiful with a cut like that. And while I'm no fan of thick, heavy makeup, if she'd wear just a bit more, she'd be...stunning," she heard Trevor say.

"Sure. No. Go ahead. Do you what you gotta do. I need to finish up a paper I'm working on myself, so take care it, and I'll take to later. Yep. You, too. Bye."

Henley's head was spinning again, and it took her several seconds to remember the reason she'd come upstairs as she looked at the clean clothes in her arms. She waited a few more seconds then took the last few steps to Trevor's room, inhaled deeply and slowly let it out, before saying, "Knock, knock? Anyone home?"

"Henley! Hey there. Yeah, I'm here grinding away as usual. What's up?"

She stepped in and showed him the laundry, and Trevor jumped up.

"Sheesh! I totally forgot. I'm really sorry. That won't happen again, I pr..."

"Trevor? It's okay," she told him. "May I lay them on the bed for you?"

"Here. I'll get them," he said before she made it to the bed.

He took them, thanked her, and laid them down himself.

As he did, she noticed his phone on the desk just three feet away. She saw a photo, and it was obvious it was from an advertisement of some sort, and had to be the one he was talking about. Just a quick glance told her why as the woman's hair looked amazing.

"Pretty girl," she said when Trevor saw her looking.

"Oh. Yeah, she's probably a model for some shampoo or haircare product. I uh, I...I was just talking..."

"Is she someone you know? The model?" Henley asked, interrupting him as she took a closer look to see what it was that he liked so much about her hair.

"I'm confused. Why would I know her?" he asked, now thoroughly confused.

The girl was very attractive, her hair really was amazing, and Henley loved the way it looked. She also realized that Trevor was right. It really would be perfect for her face, too, and that realization caused her to make a mental note to see Fran, the stylist she'd used for the last six or seven years. Henley no longer styled her hair, she just had Fran trim the split ends every six weeks or so and wore it long. Very long.

But at 39, as much as she hated to admit it, it was probably high time to do something with it. Something like the beautiful girl in the photo Trevor liked so much. Her hair was chin length, parted on the side, and had a kind of shock of hair that swept across the left side of the girl's forehead. Henley had always hated straight bangs as they reminded of the The Little Dutch Boy, but this 'bang-like' feature wasn't bangs and was actually quite flattering.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," she told Trevor as she took her eyes off the stylish 'do' in the photo.

"No. It's no problem. In fact, I...I always look forward to seeing you, Henley."

This was the first time Henley actually felt like Trevor was embarrassed. Not literally, of course, but it was as though he felt guilty for saying something he believed but saw as inappropriate.

That feeling reinforced her decision to do what she'd already made up her mind to do, so she smiled at him and told him she always looked forward to seeing him, too.

"I guess our next opportunity will be tomorrow morning," Trevor said as she neared the door.

"Yes. I...guess so," Henley told him before wishing him 'goodnight' then leaving without another word.

Their normally pleasant conversation during breakfast on Saturday morning was strained, but not so much so that either one of them asked what was wrong. But just before they finished up, Henley asked if there was any way he could possibly watch the kids for a couple of hours that afternoon while letting him know it was a lot to ask since he already did so much for her where the children were concerned. She offered to pay him, but he interrupted her before she could finish.

"Are you kidding? You will not pay me, and of course I'll watch them!" he told her. "And take as long as you need, okay?"

She thanked him sincerely then let him know it might be closer to three, if he really didn't mind.

"Take four if you need it. We'll find things to do, okay?"

She left around 1 o'clock after having lunch with Trevor and the kids but wouldn't say where she was going.