BABYSITTERXJOEL FANFIC CHAPTER ONE
Posted on AO3 under Lilies_Daisies88 it's name is babysitterxjoel
Anna checked the time, frowning when she saw it was nearly midnight.
He should’ve been home by now.
She knew she couldn’t leave Sarah alone, she was only five, but she needed to leave soon before the storm got any worse.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she leaned back into the couch, listening as the ticking clock mixed with the rain hitting the roof, scarce rumbles of thunder becoming more frequent.
She didn’t mind staying late to help out, she’d just been so frustrated lately and wanted to be in her own bed, with her own books, not worrying about driving home in a storm when her tires were for shit and her wipers had broken.
Fifteen minutes passed before she heard the familiar sounds of his boots on the porch, the lock clicking before the door slammed and he came into the dimly lit living room.
Replace the lights tomorrow.
Even with the dim lights, she could see his wet shirt clinging to his body as he wiped a hand through his hair to flick off the water.
“Shit,” he groaned, looking at her, “‘m sorry Anna, got caught up at work. Should’ve called. Thanks for staying.”
Joel sat on the couch, kicking his boots off before leaning into the couch with a groan, covering his eyes with his arm.
“I’ll get some extra cash for you tomorrow,” he mumbled, using Sarah's stuffed fox as a pillow.
Anna withheld a laugh at the sight of him. She frequently used them while she was playing on the floor with Sarah, or while Sarah napped and Anna laid on the couch, though she’d never admit that to Joel.
Anna waved a dismissive hand that Joel couldn’t see, “it’s no worries. I have to wait out the storm. I’ll set the alarm before I leave so you can get some sleep.”
He shook his head, sitting back up, “I’ll get changed and wait up with you. Need some company that isn’t fuckin’ dumb.”
As Joel got up to change, Anna went to the kitchen to heat up his dinner and get him water, setting it on the coffee table.
When he sat down, he raised a brow, looking at Anna.
“Sarah made your plate,” she gestured to the absurd amount of mac-n-cheese on his plate, “and I know you wouldn’t’ve eaten if I hadn’t made it for you.”
Joel rolled his eyes, taking a bite of the chicken, “for starters, I do eat, and secondly, I thought you were supposed to be Sarah’s babysitter.”
She plopped herself on the couch adjacent to him, shrugging, “can’t babysit a kid whose dad doesn’t eat enough. So work was stressful?”
He nodded, finishing his chicken before pushing the plate away. He felt bad wasting food, but he couldn’t eat anymore without feeling like he was going to puke.
He pushed the plate towards Anna, “eat.”
“I already ate.”
“Can’t have a babysitter who doesn’t eat enough,” he mocked.
Anna rolled her eyes, grabbing the plate, “don’t you know that’s how I keep such a great physique,” she asked, shoving a forkful of mac-n-cheese in her mouth.
“Yeah, work sucked. Tommy got into another argument with Hank, and I had to save his ass from losing the job, again.”
Anna hummed, listening to him vent as he went into the kitchen, coming back with two beers.
“You’re probably going to have to crash on the couch,” he said, holding it out, “I noticed your tires are bad.”
She nodded, thanking him for the beer before taking it, taking a swig.
She’d only shared a beer with him once, and it’s led to one too many stupid jokes and comments.
She took a moment to look over his body. He was an attractive man, in good shape due to his job and working out, and his face was definitely a bonus.
He cleared his throat, quirking a brow.
“Somethin’ on your mind darlin’?”
Anna’s face flushed a light pink and she shook her head, “nope, nothing. Sarah was an angel, as always. Wants to go to the park tomorrow, if that’s okay with you?”
She knew he wouldn’t care, but she never took her out of the house without giving him a heads up. If it was her kid, she’d only hope someone had the decency to tell her where her kid was at all times.
“Don’t let her bring home any more rocks, got too many and not enough spots for them.”
She laughed, taking another swig of the beer before giving him a mock salute.
They fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the rain and thunder.
Anna scrolled on her phone for a minute, drinking more of the beer before setting it down on the coffee table, setting her phone down too.
“I’ll go grab you something to change into. There’s clean towels and you know where the bathroom is if you need a shower.”
Anna nodded, following him upstairs as he grabbed a shirt for her. She was thankful she’d left a pair of shorts there from when Sarah sprayed her with the hose and covered her in mud.
When she got in the shower, she let out a relaxed sigh, letting the hot water run down her back before she searched the shelves for shampoo. All he had for shampoo was Sarah’s 3-in-1 watermelon shampoo, or Joel’s dove.
She grimaced at the watermelon shampoo, grabbing Joel’s shampoo instead before she washed her body.
She put on the shirt Joel had given her, looking down at it.
It was Sarah’s favorite shirt to steal from him, the smell of his leather jacket and cologne filling her nostrils as she shook her hair out, putting the towel in the hamper and her folding her clothes on the counter.
When she came down, Joel had made a bed on the couch for her, setting the remote on the pillow.
“Thanks,” she said, sitting down.
Joel’s eyes looked over her body and he tried to push down the lust clouding his mind at the sight of her in his shirt, coming down to her thighs and hiding the shorts she’d put on.
Joel nodded, turning his focus towards the TV to shake the thoughts from his mind as Anna got up, looking through the movies.
“Anything good to watch that isn’t Dora or Cinderella?”
“Cars.”
“Not Cars either.”
She let out a laugh, her head falling forward as she tried to contain herself.
“What?”
“Fifty Shades of Grey is what,” she laughed, holding the movie up, “Joel Miller, that is the worst movie to exist.”
“Yeah, well, Tommy thinks he’s funny puttin’ that there,” Joel mumbled, grabbing the movie from her hand, “he bought it.”
“We’ve all got our things,” she shrugged, turning back to the movies as she scanned for more, grabbing out the two other discs, the room filled with her laughter as Joel rolled his eyes.
“You’re a child,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“You knew I was a lightweight and still gave me alcohol,” she defended, going back to the couch to plop herself back down, “mind if I have another?”
“Don’t think you’d be able to handle that.”
“I’ll be fully functional tomorrow with Sarah, swear.”
He gestured his hand, giving her permission.
He watched as she went to the kitchen, coming back with two beers. He knew it was probably the alcohol, though it was a little amount, it was enough to relax him.
“You can have my bed,” he offered, “I’ll crash on the couch.”
Anna took a large drink of the beer, shaking her head.
I’d rather you be in the bed with me.
“I’m okay on the couch,” she checked the clock, “shouldn’t you go to bed?”
She was enjoying his company, and would stay up all night with him talking if they didn’t have to work tomorrow, but she was selfishly hoping he’d stay up with her, even if he had to get up early for work.
“Once I finish my beer. Anything new goin’ on in your life? How’s things with… Derk?”
“Dustin,” she corrected, “we ended things a few weeks ago. Wasn’t worth the headache and we had completely different schedules. Apparently, working a three hour shift at night as a drive-thru worker is some very exhausting work.”
Joel laughed, covering it with a cough, “gotta start somewhere, I suppose. Never liked him to begin with. He was weird, and I appreciate that you didn’t bring him around Sarah.”
Joel was protective of Sarah, and his anxiety had gotten so bad with her, he’d been put on Zoloft…Fuck.
“You shouldn’t drink when you’re supposed to take your meds.”
Joel looked at the clock before looking at his beer, “I’ll take it early tomorrow.”
His anxiety had begun to ease with Anna as a babysitter and how understanding and kind she was to his worries and how well she took care of Sarah.
“Joel,” she started.
“Sarah’s babysitter.”
Anna put her hands up in defeat, finishing off her beer before she laid on the couch, falling asleep to the silence filling the room.
taglist: @shes-a-bit-gay @untamedheart81
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