The Expat

"Ok, I surrender. Don't say I didn't warn you. I don't have anything to use in the kitchen except cookware. Pots and things are there but I barely have any fresh ingredients or spices because I rarely cook at home. Also, bring a bathing suit and a book or anything to keep you occupied for an hour or two."

"Why? What are you planning?"

I smiled at her.

"There is an indoor pool in my apartment block and I want to see if I can help Suze overcome her fears. I have some experience as a swim instructor but whatever I do, will need to be done slowly and maybe your presence helps but maybe it could hinder. Remember, she was not the only one in the water that day. You were also there and she couldn't do anything to help you. That could be the root of her problem."

"I really want to kiss you right now," was all she replied, focusing her dark eyes, looking straight into mine.

"Shouldn't we take it a bit slower?"

"Fuck it. We've already wasted two weeks. That's slow enough."

In one fluid motion, she slid onto my lap and laid her arms around my neck. I could clearly see that she restrained herself, not wanting to initiate a kiss I was not ready for but her slightly open mouth and her tongue that brushed lightly over her lips drew my eyes to them. I don't think I could have resisted her if my life had depended on it. I placed one hand on her back, the other on her waist and pulled her close enough to connect our lips. It was a slow, soft kiss we shared not the passionate kiss of a man and a woman who would soon make love to each other. It was tentative, carefully exploring, testing, probing and tasting. And it lasted seemingly forever. Our lips refused to part, tried to catch one more taste, one more touch of its counterpart when the kiss broke up. We opened our eyes at the same time, after taking a couple of deep breaths in order to collect ourselves a little, and shared a common, unspoken understanding that today was not the time to go further but the day would come; sooner rather than later.

When I was at the door a few minutes later, we shared another kiss.

"Tell Suze that I'm sorry I missed her today but I'm really looking forward to seeing her tomorrow."

"Certainly not. If she even gets the faintest idea that we're going to see you later, she will be sitting in the car as soon as she has finished her breakfast," was the heart-warming reply. I wondered a little how I had gotten so attached to that girl in such a short time. I had only seen her twice so far but knowing that she would be happy just seeing me, melted something inside of me.

+

I was more than just a little antsy while I waited for Amy and Suze to arrive. Fortunately, while being a horrible cook, I was at least housebroken. I liked my apartment clean and tidy so I did what was necessary. The cleaning lady that came every Friday also helped a lot but I only hired her because I was lacking the time to do it myself. The furnishing was sparse. A black leather couch and a glass coffee table were arranged in front of the TV which was mounted on the wall. A dinner table made of cherry wood and four matching chairs complemented the living room. There were two potted plants, a ficus tree and an elephant's foot, both had been provided by the headquarters and had been in the apartment when I moved in. Additionally, two framed photos hung on one of the walls. They were the only souvenirs I had from my assignments in Brazil and China and showed me surrounded by most of the mall's employees.

The apartment had one bedroom which contained my bed and a wardrobe and another one which served as my home office. This was completed by a rather small bathroom with a shower but no tub, and the kitchen which was well equipped with appliances and had come fully outfitted with lots of pots and pans which I never used.

The doorbell interrupted my nervous attempts to improve the impression my apartment would make. I was painfully aware of how bachelor-like it looked. After having seen Amy's lovingly furnished house, or at least her living room last night, I wondered what she would think of mine.

"Mr Hero!" the small admirer exclaimed, extending her arms, expecting me to pick her up.

"Hey, Sweetie! Welcome to my robber's cave."

I got a really strong embrace from her and for a moment I wondered whether she would ever let go of me again and if it would disturb me if she didn't. Even though I knew how attached I had become to her, I was still surprised to notice that it wouldn't disturb me at all. It might be a bit uncomfortable at work but I would find a way. I took a quick glance at Amy. She was dressed in a similar dress to when I had seen her three weeks ago but this one was white and let her pink bikini shine through. She leaned closer and we kissed our cheeks, lingering just a blink of an eye longer than common. Again we had without the need for words come to the joint decision that this was the maximum of affection we wanted to show in front of Suze before we were ready to openly communicate our relationship. But the family hug felt really good and surprisingly right.

Amy picked up two bags of groceries and we all went to the kitchen where I prepared some beverages and Amy stored the food away. As I was preoccupied talking to Suze, I missed her surprised reaction at finding my fridge empty bar a carton of milk which I needed for my coffee. Suze started by telling me everything that had happened in her life as soon as I sat at the table and I again found it remarkably interesting to hear about her preschool adventures. When the coffees were finished and Amy took a quick trip to the bathroom, I dropped the bomb.

"Let's go swimming."

I have rarely seen anybody go from carefree to fearful so fast.

"Do I have to?"

"No, you don't have to but it would make me really happy if we could have a little swim together."

I could see the wheels turn in her little head, trying to find an excuse to avoid swimming. I didn't want to give her too much time to think so I rose, picked her up and sat her down on my arm. I didn't hold her tightly, just made sure she wouldn't fall down and made my way towards the door. I had my trunks already on under my shorts and grabbed the towels I had placed next to the entrance.

"Amy? Suze and I are going to have a look at the pool in the basement. We'll be back in a while."

"Ok," I heard the reply from the bathroom. She had flushed a minute ago, so I was quite sure she was deliberately waiting for me to make my move.

On the way to the elevator and downwards I kept Suze on my arm and kept enthusiastically telling her how much I liked swimming and how good I was at swimming and that I was a trained lifeguard and that I had won medals and how boring it was that I usually was alone in the pool. She relaxed visibly on the way down but when the elevator doors opened and we walked through the short corridor she tensed up again. It didn't matter as I hadn't expected her to overcome her fear just because I was there. When we entered the swimming hall, I stopped just after the door and, once it had closed, set her down and then helped her out of her dress. Her mother had already dressed her in a cute one-piece with small frills.

"What a beautiful young lady you are!" I exclaimed marvelling, continuing to try and distract her but I didn't get a response from her and when I asked her if she wanted to go closer, she vehemently shook her head.

While I removed my own clothes down to my own swimming gear, I asked her whether she minded if I did a few laps. Again she shook her head but this time more pensively as if she wasn't sure that I should go into the water. I ignored her reluctance and confidentially walked over to the starting blocks, stepped up, took my starting position and then propelled myself into the water. I dived the first few yards, my arms extended in front of me and my body tensed, my legs wiggling with the trained motions of years of competitive swimming. I broke the surface, took a deep breath and settled into a crawl which took me across the twenty-five yards in less than fifteen seconds. I didn't stop to look at Suze when I reached the end of the lap but made the well-ingrained flip turn and immediately started my second lap.

Stroke, stroke, stroke, breath right. Stroke, stroke, stroke, breath left. Stroke, stroke, stroke, breath right. Stroke, stroke, dive, turn, push, glide, breath left. Stroke, stroke, stroke, breath right.

I completed ten laps in roughly two minutes before I stopped at the end of the pool. I swam across the lane to the side, close to where Suze was standing. She had come a lot closer to get a good look at what I was doing. I could see she was really impressed. With an experienced motion, I lifted myself out of the pool, turned around and sat down on the ledge, my feet still dangling in the water.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked

She shook her head, but slowly. I could again see the wheels turning in her head.

"I promise that I will hold you and not let anything happen to you."

She didn't respond, neither nodding nor shaking her head.

"Want to sit down here with me?"

Very carefully she approached me and clung to my arm as she slowly sat down. I loosened her grip and offered her to hold the other hand instead and moved my arm around her protectively.

"How do you feel, sitting so close to the water?"

And that was when she started crying. I let her because while she cried she spoke to me about her experience, how the wave had hit her and tossed her overboard, about her helplessness and her fear when her mother didn't respond to her cries. In the end, she sat on my lap and held me around my waist as good as she could. I told her to hold me tight and slowly glided into the pool, making sure that Suze's face was well above the waterline. I used some water to wash the tears from her cheeks and to clean her nose. I turned on my back and swam a few strokes with Suze lying on my stomach until I reached the shallower parts of the pool where I could stand.

"Do you want me to teach you swimming?"

She nodded vigorously and I held her in the right position and explained the motions she had to go through with her arms. I soon felt a pull as her movements started to generate momentum. I observed with big surprise that her legs found the right motions by themselves. Only two minutes after my lessons had started, I let go of her and she mastered the two yards to the ledge with ease. I took a few steps back, the pool was only three lanes wide so I positioned myself in the middle and extended my hands towards the little girl that had so quickly captured my heart. She put in a lot of effort and made it over to me and into my arms. Her technique still left a lot to be desired but that was something I would care about another time. Right now I was congratulating her on her achievement. We repeated that a few times, extending the distance slowly until she managed to traverse the entire width of the pool, maybe six or seven yards in total. Then she insisted to try a full length. I had some doubts about that but I would be next to her and thought that it was better to try and fail safely in her current situation than not try at all so I brought her to the deep end and swam backwards in front of her, always keeping roughly a yard distance to her. I saw how she reached the limits of her strength about halfway so I stopped and let her catch up. I held her steadily while she breathed like a steam train, trying to catch her breath. I swam us towards the ledge but she stopped me.

"No! I'm not there yet!"

Stubbornness and a strong will seemed to run in the family and who was I to argue with a lady so when she had recovered, I let go of her again and she finished the remainder of the lap, clinging to the ledge when she reached her target.

The ensuing celebration, I picked her up, dipped her into the water before throwing her into the air and catching her again on the way down, made her screech from delight. After a minute of fun, I sat her on my arm and told her that it was time for lunch. I sat her on the edge of the pool and climbed out myself. It wasn't until now that I noticed that we weren't alone. I hadn't seen her entering but Amy was standing there, partially hidden behind a pillar, not exactly crying but her eyes were watery.

"Look who's been watching you!" I said to Suze, pointing towards her mother.

"Mom! I did a full lap in the pool."

"I saw it. You did so great," was Amy's reply as she embraced her daughter. She also mouthed a quiet 'thank you' in my direction to which I reacted by lifting an imaginary hat in an 'it-was-my-pleasure'-gesture.

By now, Suze was starving. That was not really surprising after both the physical and emotional efforts she had gone through since arriving at my place. So after a quick shower to wash the chlorine off our bodies and putting the T-shirt back on, we took the elevator up to the seventh floor. Not knowing how to ask my guest if she was ready to go and cook in my kitchen I suggested we call a delivery service for some pizza. Boy, did Amy shoot me down.

"I checked your fridge and freezer. If that's all you've been eating the last few months I will not under any circumstances let you eat any more of it this weekend. You go and sit down in the living room and I'll prepare you a proper meal."

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied demurely, grinning widely.

She threw the kitchen towel at me in response. The meal was fantastic and I didn't lie when I told her that I hadn't eaten such a good meal since I had last visited my own mother. Sure, I had eaten in some very good restaurants that prepared the finest dishes with selected ingredients but it was still a restaurant. We had just about had time to finish our meals when Suze was already yearning to go back to the pool and I did my best to logically explain to her that she had to wait for a full hour before she could go swimming again. It was then that I learned that logic is not always the best option when speaking to four-year-olds and bonding is no replacement for four years of parenting. After Amy had amused herself for a couple of minutes she ended the ongoing barrage by using the argument 'because we say so'. I didn't miss the use of the word 'we'.

I didn't let Amy clean the table and the kitchen, despite her insistence but after coming to my apartment and providing me with the first home cooked meal I had had in a long time, there was no chance that I would let her do anything but relax and spend time with her daughter while I cleaned away the dishes and whipped the kitchen back into shape.

When I was done, we kept Suze entertained until we deemed her ready to go swimming again. This time, Amy joined us openly from the beginning. I didn't miss her muted wolf whistle when I removed my T-shirt and had to suppress a grin. As I've said before I'm certainly not a hunchback and in a rather good shape but I didn't feel like a prized item that would cause such a sexy woman as Amy to be overly impressed. Not waiting for her to undress, I quickly jumped into the water because I was not sure how my animalistic brain would react when she removed her sundress and the water was the best way to hide it if necessary. She certainly knew how to make an impression as she waited for me to come back up and turn towards her before sliding the straps over her shoulders, letting the dress fall to the ground.

It was the first time, I got a really good look at her body. She was not perfect, not top model material but still stunning. She wasn't thin but healthily slim, her breasts were on the small side for her size but still fitted her perfectly, her waist was impeccably curved even though there was an unnecessary inch or two around and her hips were a bit wider than the ideal prototype represented by advertisements. She had given birth to a child after all and if you didn't have a personal trainer like the Hollywood starlets or the famous singers, it would always show but her legs could have been the cause for a war in the ancient world. I was mostly prepared for it, though, as I had seen her in a very sexy sundress when we went out for lunch. We spent the entire Saturday afternoon in the pool area and it proved almost impossible to tire Suze out as I patiently gave her more swimming lessons. We returned to the apartment just around four and I let the ladies take proper showers to wash off the smell of the pool. They started to pack up and I decided to delay my own shower until they had left.

"When are you showering?"

"I'll wait until you've left."

Amy shot me a look I had so far only seen when Suze was misbehaving before she pointed in the general direction of the bathroom.

"Shower. Now. You're coming with us for a proper meal. I'll not let you live on those awful frozen dinners."

"Yes, Ma'am," I shouted and gave her a military salute by tipping the finger-tips of my right hand to my temple as I had learned during my service back home before rushing off to the bathroom.

I had just finished my shower and walked out to get my towel when the door opened and Amy peeked around the door with a devious smile on her face. I could see from her expression that she had timed her entrance with my turning off of the water.

"I would be really disappointed if you didn't pack an overnight bag."

That woman really went for it when she had set herself a target and, standing stunned, naked and open-mouthed in the bathroom with my arm still extended towards my towel, I realised that I had become that purpose. Not that I intended to put up any more resistance. This day had clearly showed me that I wanted to be a part in their lives. All remaining questions, like where we would live, would be sorted in time. But I wasn't a shy and inexperienced High School boy who was being seduced by a MILF and I could play that game just as well as she could, therefore I consciously didn't move to cover myself before I replied.

"Why would I need an overnight bag? The way I see it you will be undressing me in another three or four hours. Whatever clothes I dress in now will be as good as new tomorrow morning."

She made no effort to hide her looking me up and down before she stroked her jawline with her fingertips.

"You need to shave."

"Why? Scared of thigh burns?"

She laughed at that and by doing so, conceded defeat. At least for the time being.

"Hurry. Suze is getting a little whiny because she's hungry. I need to make dinner for her."

I towelled myself dry as fast as I could and quickly shaved the stubble away. I dressed, stuffed a fresh set of underwear, a tracksuit, a fresh shirt and a new toothbrush into a bag and walked out into the living room. I had heard Suze complain about something but the moment I came forth, she was back to her bubbly self. I led them to the door, took a quick tour around my place to turn off all the lights and then we departed towards the elevator.

I decided that I would be able to drive home by taxi if needed and joined the two ladies in their Mitsubishi compact car. I could tell that Amy was a bit ashamed that she only had a small and old car but I was quick to point out all the disadvantages of a larger limousine versus an agile smaller car and I also understood that money was a big issue for her as a single mother, depending mostly on a part-time salary and started to wonder, not in a leery but rather in a curious way, how she could afford a house but I didn't know enough to come up with an explanation.

Amy gave me a quick tour of the house before she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. My offer to help was put to good use when I was given the important task of keeping Suze happy until food was ready. That wasn't very difficult as long as I didn't mind acting as her comfy chair while she introduced me to her doll collection. Dinner was at least as good as lunch and accompanied by a bottle of red wine. While listening to Suze babbling I found myself wishing that I could share this experience with them regularly.