The Babysitter and the Sisterly Trio/ChapterI/Tera/Riley

I walk over to the backyard. Riley is still kicking her ball around the yard. As I approach her, she stops and picks the ball up.

"Hey! You're one of the new neighbors, right?"

I smile at her and hold out my hand for her to shake. "Yep, my name's Rei! I'm also gonna be your babysitter in the afternoons while your parents are at work."

"Oh, okay." she says, with a cautious look on her face. "Can I still play outside? I love this huge yard!"

"Don't worry, you can do whatever you want. I think your parents just want there to be a grownup around in case anything happens."

She grins at that. "Oh, of course. They worry too much, you know."

"Hey! Do you like sports?" she asks me.

"I don't play outside much..." I say reluctantly. She pouts at this. "Oh, I was hoping to have someone to play with... Dad's always too busy, and my mom and sisters don't like to get dirty."

I can't stand it when a cute girl is sad. Without thinking, I blurt out "Umm, I didn't say that I didn't like to play outside. I, uh... just haven't had anyone to play with around here. If you wanna play some games outside I'm totally cool with that."

Riley lights up when she hears this. "Oh! Okay! Yay, I finally have someone to play with!" Without any warning, she runs over and hugs me tightly around the torso. I feel myself start to get a boner and am worries that she's going to notice, so I shift my body a bit in her grip. She releases me quickly.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable! Mom keeps telling me I'm too imp.. impul... impulsive. I'm supposed to ask first before I hug someone..."

She looks like she's about to cry for some reason. I pat her awkwardly on the back. "Nono, it's fine! I was just startled, that's all. You can hug me if you want."

She sniffs and looks at me. "S-Sorry! I.. have a hard time making friends. I thought... I thought I just blew it again." Shaking off her dark mood, she says "Um, do you wanna come play with my ball?"

"Maybe later." I tell her. "I still have to go meet your sisters."

I wave to her and walk back towards the front of the house.

[Only one sister left to meet...]

* Evy

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