#long enough for the town to leave a good impression and they would've stayed longer if it wasn't for the tornado and blizzard

[somersetmummy]

(A/N): This fic takes place immediately following book 1 chapter 11 (after being rescued by Sam from Sofia's closet). Not going to lie, I originally posted this monster fic (7000+ words) on Wattpad as a whole (my first fic, I didn’t know better!) so I’ve taken the opportunity to re-write and condense but thought it read better as two parts. 

Series/Pairing: The Nanny Affair (M!Sam Dalton x MC Katie Hide) 

Original characters - all property of PB: Katie Hide (MC), Sam Dalton, Mason & Mickey Dalton, Jenny Blake, Robin Flores (Part Two only)

New characters: (Present in Part Two) Serena-Rose Warren, Tessa Finch, Lucinda Hansen 

Rating/Content warning: 18+ Light sexual language

Word Count: 1880

Summary: Driving home together, Nanny Katie Hide and her boss Sam Dalton get a little hot and steamy after she receives an offer of a night out with the girls. 

Find Part Two here.

Part One -

The companionable silence within the car provides a stark contrast to the chaos of rush hour on the streets outside. Sam leisurely meanders through the traffic seemingly taking care not to rush the journey, enjoying a rare opportunity for the two of them to steal a fleeting moment to themselves. With their fingers laced together resting on his thigh, as his other commands control of the steering wheel, she steals a lingering glance in his direction relishing in the flutters which catch in her stomach as he notices her watching him. His lips curl into a comfortable smile in reply of her unspoken affection and it takes all his might to keep his eyes on the road.  

In the footwell below her feet the distant hum of a phone, neglected in her bag, buzzing faintly to itself punctuates the quiet once again, as it has been for the last ten minutes. Tired of being ignored, the buzzing transforms into a piercing ring causing its owner to startle and refocus. Untangling her fingers from Sam's she reaches down to collect it, her frustration at being interrupted quickly forgotten when she sees her friend's name on the home screen.  

"Finally!! So you are alive!" Jenny squeals down the phone without restraint.  The smirk on Sam's face is unmissable as he recognises the shrill voice on the other end of the phone. Katie returns his glance with an eye roll of her own as she braces herself for an interrogation.

"Ok, ok I get it, I'm here now. What's up?"

"You need to ask that gorgeous boss of yours to give you Friday night off, we're taking you out and I won't take no for an answer! It's about time we had a girls night, we've barely seen you since you've been living it up with that sex god."

Katie winces hoping Sam hadn't heard that last bit, subtlety was never Jenny's strong suit. She knows she doesn't need to consider her answer, just thinking of how much she's missed her friends the last few months sparks a pang of guilt deep in heart. A night free from the drama of fiancés, stolen glances and torturous longing sounds perfect.

"That actually sounds great Jen, I'll try my best to come. Aren't we pushing it to get a spot at any of the good places though if we're leaving it this late..."

Jenny scoffs, feigning disbelief that Katie would think she didn’t already have a master plan. If she wasn’t her best friend she’d feel a little insulted.

"You don't think I'm already all over that?! And I mean literally, I've got Josh on the case for us and I definitely got all over that!" 

The smugness in her voice carries her words and Katie can't help but giggle as she pictures how her unabashedly forward friend would've convinced her current flavour of the month Joshua Demarco, to use his connections to get them access to the hottest new bar in town. She'd no doubt that while a few flutters of eyelashes and some kind words would have sufficed, it was more likely that Jen would have insisted on giving him something more in return. And that something would most definitely not have been PG. 

As the more outgoing and vocal half of their partnership, Jenny has always had a way of charming everybody she meets, her connection with people is effortless, something which Katie finds both admirable and terrifying. 

While some could argue that Katie too could charm and impress people effortlessly, she is undoubtedly more comfortable in the background, observing and understanding how things work before weighing in. She notices the details, picking up on key points of conversation, getting to know people on a personal level and drawing on their connections to help assert herself. Jen needed to be visible at all times, she was like the sun, drawing people in to her warmth and reflecting her own energy back at them in return. 

"I'll leave it with you then Jen, just text me with the details and I'll see if I can make it. And I don't mean the steamy details of you and Josh, you can save those to share with me over cocktails!" Sam's intensely brooding gaze falls upon her, no doubt trying to glue together the pieces of conversation he'd just overheard. She turns to him realising he probably already suspects there’s a further story to be told. They’d not yet shared much about their lives beyond the penthouse but he’d heard enough to know that she could be easily influenced by her impulsive friend. 

"Jen I'd better go, speak soon."

Returning the phone to the depths of her bag, she catches Sam's eye, his expression warm but curious, clearly waiting for her to elaborate.

"Would you mind if I took the night off on Friday? Jen's asked if I can meet her and some friends, we haven't seen each other for ages...."

Unsure where the feeling comes from, the urge to say more rushes over her like a wave crashing on the shore. It’s the same as the feeling of nervousness she had that night a few weeks ago at the diner, almost like first date nerves. Perhaps, she realises,  they’ve resurfaced because her whole life has been tangled with his for the last few months, she's not really sure how to break out of it and step back into her own, or whether he'll let her. 

"Obviously I'll make sure I get the boys dinner sorted, the place tidy, laundry done and get them to bed before I head out....and I won't stay out late, I wouldn't want to cause any disruption....unless you've got any pressing work or meetings which means you'll be home late... I can cancel, I know it's short notice..."

"Woah, who are you, Cinderella?!"

The mirth in his tone instantly relaxes her as she realises he's only teasing. While attempting, and failing, to look defiant her nose inevitably crinkles, unable to contain the laughter bubbling to the surface at the silliness of her outburst. He leans over gently resting his hand on her knee to placate her, stroking her delicate skin with his thumb.

"Of course you should go out with your friends."

"Really?"

"Definitely." He continues, "as much as I would love to keep you to myself I know that you have a life of your own to live too and you, more than anyone, deserve to go out and enjoy yourself."

Sweeping his hand into her own, she gracefully brings it to her lips, tickling featherlight kisses along his knuckles.

"Thank you....but I don't know that you'd really want me to let my hair down if you knew how our girls nights usually play out..."

A wicked smile casts on her lips as she looks at him from under her long eyelashes, she continues to caress his hand, her lips teasing his skin with every word. He struggles to keep his eyes on the road, his mind racing with the many possible indiscretions which he imagines could take place on girls night, especially with Jenny at the helm. The visions in his mind entrance him and he can't decide whether he wishes he was part of them, or that she wasn't.

"I see, a bit of an every man for himself situation is it?!" 

He pulls her hand over to his lap where he secures it on his thigh under his own. His hope that by keeping his hand on hers he can keep her grounded to him before losing her to the inhibitions of the impending night out.

"Let's just say it'll be a hot mess of short skirts, high heels, cocktails and getting sweaty on the dance floor."

Realising that the car has come to a stop at a red light she turns to Sam looking him straight in the eye as she slides her hand brazenly up his thigh. She can feel his pants straining to contain what's growing within them while his chest visibly rises and falls more rapidly, struggling to control the pulsing hunger running through him. 

"But don't worry, we usually only break a few hearts".

Unable to restrain himself any longer, he launches across the centre console, holding her head in his hands and devouring her mouth with his hungry wet lips. She lets herself fall deeply into his kiss, smiling against him as she thinks to herself that she should ask for time off more often.

The light turns to green and then red again, disgruntled drivers behind sounding their horns in annoyance as the immaculate silver Audi blocks their path, but neither occupant notices as they loose themselves in one another.

Her gentle hands press against Sam's muscular chest, marvelling in the ripples beneath her fingers, before sliding them up into his hair pulling him deeper into the kiss. He keeps one hand firmly at the back of her neck, anchoring her to him while the other roams down the curves of her body, his thumb tweaking a now erect nipple before grasping at her hip.

Intruding on their entanglement, the sound of the in-car phone system echoes around the plush detailing of the car, with 'Home' appearing on the display. Breaking apart in surprise, they finally catch a breath. Sam rests his forehead intimately against hers as he gives the voice command to answer the call and Mason's innocent voice pours out of the speakers.

"Hey dad, are you gonna be home soon? We're staaarving." It's impossible for Katie not to break into a smile as she thinks about the boys at home with Carter, no doubt teaching him all sorts of tricks which she'd never let them get away with. Sam notices her thoughtful smile and matches it with his own as their minds work as one imaging the same scene. Their eyes once again meet as they resign themselves to the intimate moment being lost, instead committing it to memory to recall again when the urge to immerse themselves in thoughts of each other inevitably come to call.

"Yeah buddy, I've just picked up Katie and we're heading home now."

The smile in Mason's voice is evident as his tone becomes more upbeat. 

"Oh great, Katie's with you?...Hey Katie!"

"We missed you today, why'd you have to spend the day with Suck...I mean with Sofia anyways?!" Mickey interrupts, his fear of missing out pushing him to insert himself in the conversation.

Sam and Katie stifle their giggles at Mickey's slip of the tongue, aware of the microphone above their heads. Sam places a soft kiss on Katie's forehead before pulling away begrudgingly as she in turn adjusts her position, smoothing over her now crumpled skirt. 

"Hi boys, I missed you too. I was just helping her with some grown up work stuff, definitely not as fun as a day with you monkeys though.”

Much to the relief of the drivers behind them, Sam's already breezing through the now green light towards the penthouse, this time with more urgency as the sky above begins to melt into dusk.  

"How about your dad and I pick up some pizza on our way back...."

Without even a moments hesitation the twins excited voices burst through the speakers once again.

"Score!"

Tag List:  @shewillreadyou @txemrn @silma-words @thefrenchiemama @secretaryunpaid @sfb123 @fanjessfic

[peace-coast-island]

#ChoicesCreates: The heart’s memory eliminates the bad and amplifies the good - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Title: Kalopsia (The Freshman)

Summary: Kalopsia - the delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are. To Acacia Lim (MC), Saltwater Creek was just a town she grew up in. Now home after her first year of college, she notices the changes and wonders about what lies ahead for the small town’s future.

@hollyashton @endlessraj

They always said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I think it also makes you see the things you miss through colorful lenses.

I was born and raised in the small town of Saltwater Creek. It’s a nice little place to live in, but for the most part, living there has been uneventful. The community’s great, we’re like a small family. Word gets around easily, sometimes a bit too quickly. If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Living in Saltwater Creek is basically like living with your extended family.

Funny how much things can change in such a short amount of time. Over a year ago Saltwater was plagued by bad weather from a destructive tornado to a harsh winter with a blizzard to top things off. People were always saying how this town wasn’t like how it used to be. I remember when I was younger the classroom was full of kids. It was a bit of an old fashioned town as all the grades from kindergarten to twelfth grade were taught in one building. As I got older, the classes grew smaller as more families left town. Most of the people still here today have been living here for generations, including mine.

The tornado and blizzard was the biggest thing to strike the sleepy, uneventful town in a long time. Saltwater Creek has been through a lot of ups and downs and yet it always survived. But after the harsh weather destroyed most of the town, it also dimmed the spark this town once had. I always wished for something interesting to happen in town and well, be careful what you wish for. That following spring and summer I said so many goodbyes to neighbors I’ve known all my life. That year’s graduating class only had six people, including me and by the end of the year, only two of us are still living here.

Now that I’m back here for the summer, home feels a lot different. I wasn’t a fan of the old dirt roads crossing this town, always grumbling about how Saltwater should catch up with the times. I also find it tiring sometimes seeing the same old faces every day that seeing a new face was a refreshing break in the routine. Most of the area surrounding the town is nothing but a vast grassy field with lakes scattered around. It’ll take at least an hour before we find another town or city.

When I came home from winter break, I had to admit that I was nervous. Part of it had to do with feeling out of place at home since it was the longest I’ve been away. Another part was out of fear that another destructive blizzard would strike considering how heavy the snowfall was that year. That was when I realized that I have a love-hate relationship with Saltwater’s winters. I think most of the hate came out of the last blizzard. But my love came from days where I spent hours playing outside building forts and getting in snowball fights with the other kids. I came home worrying that I wasn’t going to enjoy the snow that year.

Surprisingly, the opposite happened. That winter, I thought the snowfall looked different, like the town was in a snow globe. Instead of the cold, biting air full of shards of ice, the snowflakes fell slowly like dandelion seeds after making a wish. I was stepping on light powder and not icy slush like last year. Compared to the blizzard, it was like stepping into an alternate universe. Maybe it was just me but that winter felt unusually short.

Summer break came and once again I felt like I was looking at home through different lenses. While taking a walk into town, I saw a bunch of wildflowers blooming on the side of the old dirt road. One of the things I got out of life in this town is that nature can be your friend or your foe, there’s no in between.  Driving on dirt roads is one thing, walking on them is another. I’m used to it so it’s not a big deal but on days when the weather is less than ideal, like after a long rainfall or a dry spell, in the freezing cold or blazing heat, walking down the dirt road can be a challenge. On that particular day, I was more aware of my surroundings than usual. It’s a bit of a strange feeling looking at the place you’ve spent all your life in that way. I still can’t shake it off.

While away at Hartfeld I found myself missing dirt roads. I don’t know why considering that a lot of us complain about them. The town council had been planning to fix the roads for years but considering how things are looking now, there’s probably no point in doing it anymore. As much as I enjoy driving on paved roads and walking on sidewalks, I don’t know how I’d feel if I came back home to cement and concrete roads and walkways. In a way it might have made me feel a bit sad because that would mean that things really are changing for the small town. It’s always a bit outdated in some way but at the same time it sort of has a timeless feel that I can’t really put into words. Like it belongs to a world of its own.

I walked past the creek that ran through the town. In my mind I could see myself running around and playing in the water. I never realized how pretty the creek was, a steady stream of water draping over the rocks, the gentle reflection of the sun on the surface, and the surrounding foliage bringing a pop of color to the dry plains. I found myself mesmerized by the creek’s movement, the sound of water rushing accompanying the chirping of the birds and cicadas. Hearing the sounds repeated used to annoy me during the summer, along with the crickets at night. It still does but it also feels like music to my ears, sort of like hearing an overplayed song on the radio that you don’t care too much about but it’s catchy and familiar.

Going into town isn’t the same anymore. Usually I would run into several neighbors and chat with them for a while, sometimes for at least an hour. Now most of them have left. It’s sad but that’s the way things are now. Most of the neighbors, especially the elders lived their entire lives here, generation after generation. And in the span of a year, most of the town’s history was wiped out.

My family had an old shed, which used to be a barn, was torn to shreds by the tornado. Nearly two centuries worth of our family’s past, now buried or lost to the vast fields surrounding us. Once in a while I’d find something in the grass like a piece of a gardening tool or a broken picture frame. It starts out fun, finding hidden stuff like that but then it gets sad when you realize how much is lost. I used to shrug it off as old junk, maybe as a way to sort of detach myself from harsh reality. Now I see them as little treasures, little relics from our pasts, still sad and somewhat nostalgic as well.

When you walk into town, the first thing you see is a building with a large bronze bell in front, like an old schoolhouse. In fact, that’s what it is. The building is also a church and a meeting place, sort of like a town hall. It’s the oldest building in Saltwater Creek and possibly the whole county. On the outside it looks like something from the 1800s but on the inside it can transform into anything. A classroom, a church, a conference room, I was always surprised at how fast a room can transform. That building is the center of the town, always something going on in there. I used to be kind of embarrassed about it, I mean living in a small town where some parts of it looking really old and the first thing you see when you drive by is something that looks like a schoolhouse, you wonder what that doing there in a world like this. Now when I pass by it, the old building no longer sticks out like a sore thumb. Hell, if anyone thinks of taking it down and replacing it for something more modern, I’d be against it.

Across the street there’s a little grocery store. The family that owns it has been living here since forever. They started from the ground up, building a farm a few blocks away and then building a store to sell their goods. Sadly most of what’s left of the farm was destroyed by the blizzard. There’s still local produce but recently there’s been talk of closing down business now that the owners are getting too old. The unpredictable weather is also making it difficult to grow fruits and vegetables so things have been a bit slow the past couple years.

A few blocks away there’s a shop that sells various things like fabric, books, kitchen tools, pantry items, toys, candies, and lots of other stuff. It used to be a mercantile back in the day, I guess it still is. The family that owned that placed used to be pretty rich back then since there wasn’t much competition back then. Now with most of us shopping in other places, business isn’t like how it used to be. Not surprisingly there’s talk of closing over there too.

To the right there’s an old mill that hasn’t been used for over a century. A lot of people worked there back then, I don’t know the full history behind it but it was profitable. I think my great-great grandfather worked there and then his sons worked there too. Since it was such a big part of the town’s history, it’s now sort of like a memorial. I never really paid much attention to it but now I can’t take my eyes off it. Sad to think that soon the grocery store and mercantile will soon end up like the mill. I wonder who will be left to remember it.

I feel like time’s running out in this peaceful little town of mine. Nostalgia’s already creeping in. Not that I don’t mind, I figured that’s how the old town wants us to remember it anyway. Despite the hardships and inconveniences it brings, as well as it’s uncertain future, Saltwater Creek will always hold a special place in my heart.