The Trouble With Emily Ch. 01

"Mmm, that feels great!" Emily hummed. "You have very nice hands."

"Thank you," Mitchell replied and worked his hands lower, down to the small of her back, kneading the long lean muscles beneath his trembling hands.

"Don't be afraid to be firm, you know, hard or rough ... I like it rough sometimes."

"Hmm," Mitchell hummed, pondering the implications of her statement as he applied a firmer pressure.

"That's better," Emily commented as he pressed his palms firmly into the flesh of her back. She almost seemed to be arching her spine and pressing her lovely, supple skin into his hands.

When he neared the flare of her hips and her suit bottom, he felt another twinge shudder through him. If left on his own, he could easily go on massaging her sumptuous nearly naked body. The act itself was entirely innocent, but his feelings of arousal were quite the opposite, so he quickly finished up and wiped his hands together.

"Can you do me just a little lower?" Emily asked. "Don't want my cheeks to burn do you?"

Mitchell looked down at her gorgeous ass, firm high rounded cheeks that were all tight muscle and appetizing curves. He carefully sprayed the lower exposed part of each cheek. When he touched her, Emily spread her legs just a bit farther apart, completely relaxed and at ease with his hands touching her in such an intimate spot. Mitchell couldn't believe how firm her ass was, perfectly rounded and tight as a leather sports car seat. He hoped that she couldn't feel his hands trembling as he massaged the sun block into her flesh.

"How's that?" he asked once he had finished.

"That was great! Thanks!" she said, resting her head on her arm and looking up at him as he lay back on his lounge.

"You'd better lacquer up," she commented. "You're already getting a little rosy."

"Yeah, you're probably right," he admitted, reapplying some sunscreen to his chest and shoulders before laying back down.

When Emily rolled over, she carefully held her suit top so that the little triangles of purple cloth remained strategically positioned. But as she lay back it made little difference as her suit clung to her warm damp skin as if it were just a thin layer of purple paint sprayed over her breasts. Mitchell could see every detail that he dared to look upon, the sumptuous curving shape of her breasts, the puckered circular outline of her aureoles, and the pert imprint of her nipples. Mitchell sighed and looked away. The chlorine floaters in the pool had positioned themselves next to the skimmer drain and he welcomed the opportunity to get up and tend to his maintenance duties. But a simple glance back at Emily froze him where he squatted. She was absolutely beautiful and he couldn't help looking upon her with open hungry eyes.

There were times when he had strolled through the downtown Art Institute and looked upon the amazing master paintings that were carefully hung. But no thing of beauty that he had been used to could compare to the sight before him now. As a teenager, Mitchell had become a card-carrying member of the American Society of Girl Watchers. All of the myriad forms of the female beautiful fascinated him endlessly, and he remembered each and every one. Even when meeting and falling in love with and marrying Angela, he had felt blessed to know beauty at such a high level. But glancing over at Emily, in all her gorgeous innocence, Mitchell couldn't help but feel something more, something deep, and something intense that he wasn't sure of how to put into words.

He returned to his lounge and lay down on his back, eyes closed, sinking deep into the cushion. But flickering glimpses he had enjoyed of her sexy young body kept running through his mind and he could feel arousal spread down between his legs. It wasn't long afterwards that she sat up, tied up her suit, and then got up and sauntered over to the pool. Mitchell looked up and watched her slowly take the steps down into the pool until she finally took the plunge. She swam a lap back and forth and surfaced near where he was still ensconced on the lounge.

"Wanna join me?" she asked cheerfully. "Not supposed to swim without a buddy, you know."

"You don't need a buddy when you have a lifeguard on duty," Mitchell shot back with a grin.

"Think so?" she said, paddling back from the edge of the pool. "But what if, say, a poor girl is to wander near the deep end and get fatigued and start to go under?"

"Then it would be the job of the lifeguard to dive in and save her," he replied. Mitchell watched with amusement as she drifted back into the center of the pool and began to bob up and down.

"Oh, my," she called out. "I think I have a cramp in my leg. I don't think I can keep up much longer."

Mitchell laughed out loud, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's not funny. I really do have a cramp," Emily replied, a tinge of pain in her voice.

"For real?"

"Yeah! For real!"

She did seem to be struggling in the water, splashing frantically around as she tried to reach down as if trying to rub her leg.

"You okay?" Mitchell asked, sitting up and taking a closer look at her struggle in the pool.

"I ... I ... I think I need a lifeguard," she called out.

"Well, where is that son-of-a-bitch?" Mitchell said teasingly, looking mockingly around the yard.

"Help! Help!" Emily cried out, her splashing becoming more frantic.

If this was a game, Emily was sure playing her part convincingly. Mitchell pushed himself up from the lounge and went to the edge of the pool.

"Help! Save me! Someone! Anyone!" Emily cried out.

With a shrug, Mitchell dove in and quickly swam over to where Emily was treading water. He swept through the water and hooked his arm around her and pulled her toward the shallow end. Emily seemed to fall limp into his grasp. When he stood up he pulled her into his arms.

"You okay?" he asked.

"My hero! You saved me!" she said and leaned toward him to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, hero person, for being so brave!"

Somehow she managed to say that with a straight face. Then Mitchell felt her body press against him and realized that it was bare flesh. He looked down and saw that his little "rescue" attempt had dislodged her top and her breasts were bared and rubbing against his chest. She looked down too.

"Oh, my!" she squealed. "What kind of lifeguard are you? Taking advantage of a poor drowning girl!"

"Um ... I ... um, sorry," Mitchell mumbled entirely pathetic and abjectly apologetic.

Emily took her time adjusting her top to cover up her breasts with the scant triangles of purple fabric. Not that it really mattered since they were plastered against her breasts like a thin coat of paint.

"Well, I never!" she said and backed a step away, still partially submerged.

Mitchell looked her in the eyes, her blue-green eyes twinkling in the bright afternoon sunshine. Then she began to grin and then laugh out loud.

"Why, you little-" he said and reached for her. Grabbing her arm he pulled her toward him. "I thought I told you no horseplay in the pool, young lady. If you insist on fooling around, then I'll have to remove you bodily from the pool."

"Then just go ahead and try," she said defiantly, standing tall and proud, jutting her chest out defiantly with both hands on her hips. When Emily continued to resist playfully, Mitchell reached down and lifted her up into his arms. He carried her through the water and up the steps. He had just reached the pool deck when Kelly came out of the door.

"Father! Just what do you think you're doing?" Kelly asked upon seeing her father carrying her nanny up the pool steps.

"Nothing, honey," Mitchell said entirely abashed. "Just ... um, saving this poor girl's life. She was drowning ... in the pool ... drowning ..."

Mitchell set Emily down on the deck abruptly.

"Uh-huh, right, Dad," Kelly said with a knowing, mature eye that he wasn't used to seeing. Then his daughter shifted gears immediately. "Becky and Eileen and a bunch of others are going over to Samantha's house tonight. Can I go?"

"Uh, sure, sweetie, Just don't be late, all right?"

"Sure, Daddy. Thanks!"

When Kelly stepped back inside, the day returned back closer to normal. Emily and Mitchell retired to their lounges, touched up their sun block, and dried off under the warm afternoon sunshine. Eventually Timothy appeared complaining of being hungry and Emily started to get up.

"Not this time, Emily," Mitchell said to her practically thumping his chest. "Stay put. Relax and enjoy the afternoon. This dinner is on the master chef."

Mitchell went off and put together a great picnic dinner that Emily, Mitchell, and Timothy enjoyed as they gathered on the deck around the picnic table. Although they sat at opposite ends of the table, there seemed to be some sort of unspoken energy passing between Emily and Mitchell, manifested in little passing glances and grins and nods of the head. Was it possible after all these months that he had finally come alive and was awake and emerging from the fog that had been suffocating him? No doubt that Emily had something to do with it, for she had certainly stirred up something deep inside him. I'm not dead inside, he thought. Maybe there's hope for me after all. Maybe the time is right for me to open up again. Mitchell hoped that this feeling was real; he really truly and honestly hoped so.

* * *

The following day, a Sunday, Emily was getting ready to go out shopping with one of her friends when her phone went off. Just as Mitchell had finished his weekly bookkeeping stint and was walking to the kitchen to refreshen his coffee cup, Emily was trudging down the stairs. She was wearing the most terrible frown.

"What's the matter?" Mitchell asked as she moved past him and into the family room.

"Nicole and Lizzie can't make it to the mall today," she said with disappointment.

"Aw, that's too bad. I thought that was mandatory," Mitchell remarked.

"Yeah, it is." Emily flumped on the couch next to Kelly. "There was this really big sale on at Marshall Field's and I was really hoping to find a nice summer dress."

"I could go with you," Kelly said hesitantly.

"Really?" Emily said, her face brightening immediately. "You sure it's okay with your dad?" she asked.

"It's okay with me," Mitchell replied. "In fact I think it would be a great idea." He fished into his wallet and pulled out a little cash as Kelly jumped up from the couch, growing nearly as excited as Emily.

"I just need to change," Kelly said, breezing by Mitchell, grabbing the money from his hand and running upstairs.

She was ready to go in a few minutes, an unusual thing given that Kelly was always the last one ready to leave on almost every occasion. Mitchell watched with amusement as they left in Emily's little blue Beetle convertible. My little girl was growing up and going off to play with the big girls, a thought that left him a touch sad but glad that Timothy was still a little kid.

Left to their own devices, Mitchell and Timothy had a fun leisurely day. They went to the movies, they took a long bike ride, they played an impromptu game of baseball on the front lawn, and they went for a swim. It wasn't until late afternoon when Kelly and Emily returned, full of shopping bags and chattering conversation.

"I didn't give you that much money, did I?" Mitchell remarked when he saw what Kelly was carrying into the house.

"Oh, I didn't spend it all," Kelly said proudly. "Emmie helped me find some really great bargains."

Emily gave him an innocent expression.

"It's like tutoring a protégé," Emily remarked. "And best of all she's a quick learner."

Mitchell was amused by the brief fashion show as Kelly and Emily showed off what they had purchased. Although he was concerned with the grown-up look of what Kelly had bought, his thoughts weren't concerned with the expense in the slightest. More than anything he was pleased to see them getting along so well. After dinner, Kelly approached her father, wearing a new top and shorts that showed off her maturing figure.

"Thanks for letting me go out with Emily. I had the best time."

"Good. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Are you going to keep her as our nanny?"

"Of course, sweetie," Mitchell replied. "For the next couple of years if she wants to stay. Why?"

"Just making sure. I figured with Timothy growing up and me graduating next year that you might not need her anymore."

"You've got your senior year of high school coming up. I'm not planning on spoiling it for you by having to baby-sit your little brother all the time."

"Good. I hope you keep her around. She is so cool, sort of like the big sister I never had."

There was a splash out by the pool and Mitchell looked out to see Emily swimming the backstroke. The sight brought a grin to his face.

"So do you like her, Daddy?" Kelly asked him, apparently picking up on his glance.

"Well, yeah. Of course. She's been great with you two."

"I mean kind of like, you know, boy-girl like," Kelly said.

"You mean like boyfriend-girlfriend sort of thing?"

"Yeah, basically."

"Of course not. She's your nanny."

"But she is real pretty."

"I've noticed."

"And you two seem to have this flirtation thing going."

"I don't think so, honey," Mitchell said turning away from his view of the pool and looking at Kelly "What makes you think that?"

"I'm not blind, Daddy," Kelly replied.

"If you mean what happened yesterday, we were just playing around. Nothing more than some harmless poolside fun."

Kelly didn't look convinced.

"Why? Did she say something to you?" Mitchell asked.

"No, not really. She was just asking me a little about you, and I kind of got the feeling that she likes you."

"Well I like her too ... but as a person, okay? Nothing more."

"Okay, Daddy. Whatever you say," Kelly said and then wandered off.

A few minutes later, Kelly left to hang out with some friends for the evening and Mitchell looked out at the pool, only to see Emily climb up the stairs and scamper over to get her towel. He enjoyed having her around. He was grateful for all her help with the kids. And sure there was that male part of him that enjoyed watching her, towel off her tall sumptuous curves after a brisk swim. But he knew there was a line that couldn't be crossed and he had every intention of remaining on his side.

To be continued ...