She’s young, beautiful, and naive, but not so naive as to presume she is incapable. Her naivety is pretentious; a well-orchestrated act to lure and deceive. There is a look of understanding in her eyes. The look of a girl who knows exactly what she wants. 

She strides into our home, full of bubbly confidence. Her light blonde hair falls into delicate beachy waves, her face covered in a full mask of make-up. She is your typical hot chick. Not by my standards, but surely by the average man’s.

She rings the doorbell at exactly 6 pm. Instead of meeting my gaze first – me, the one who runs this household, she immediately notices the father of my child. He is lurking at the other end of the hallway in the shadows, like a total creep. The expression on his face is classic when he approaches. He makes an apparent double take when he notices what she is wearing, and it’s not much, if I’m being honest. Her shorts are so short they ride up far enough to expose the lower half of her butt cheeks. Her sky blue tee-shirt is cropped, as is the style nowadays, barely reaching her pierced belly button, and far too skimpy for someone I would hire to watch my child. I’m not thinking of my child at this moment, though.

“Anthony…” I try not to seem the least bit aware of the infatuation between them, “This is McKenzie. She will be babysitting Lilly this evening.”

He is captivated when he reaches out to introduce himself. He pauses briefly to lock eyes with her, the glint of longing in his eyes, only obvious.

She will do perfectly.

I discovered her through a friend, but not on a recommendation. Rather, it was more a testimony of her character and not a good one, by any means. Apparently she had been accused of having an affair with the physics professor at the local highschool. However, no one had been able to actually prove or disprove the theory. It was an accusation brought forward by several of the students, students whom she must have thought she could trust.

“She told my son all about it,” one of the mothers from the book club told me. “They have been sleeping together ever since school started last year.” 

She relished in adding that the physics professor is apparently married and in his forties. Of course I gasped in disbelief when I heard the news. However, the idea that struck me later on that evening had become so overwhelmingly tempting, I knew I needed to act on it.

You can imagine my delight when I found out she lived a mere block away from us. I took it as a sure sign from the universe and made a determined effort to introduce myself somehow, even if it wasn’t so subtle. 

She just happened to be arriving home from cheer practice when I jogged past her residence that day. I stopped dead in my tracks, taking on a premeditated facade I had imagined beforehand.

“Oh…” I began when she took notice of me, “Do you live here?”

She nodded, while turning back to look at her father, who seemed a little suspicious of my intentions. The tall, handsome man stepped out of his vehicle with a puzzled expression, although suspecting I would begin to harass him over something to do with the way he had parked, or over the condition of his lawn, which was actually in desperate need of some attention.  

However, they both softened when I forged a cheerful smile and began to ask questions about her babysitting background. 

“So you do have some experience with watching babies? Because my daughter is about nine months old, and I’ve been looking for someone to watch her just one or two nights per month for date nights.” I created the impression that I’ve been desperate to find someone of her age and merit for the job.

“Yes, ma’am! I have a niece who’s a year old, and I watch her all the time.” 

She seemed enthusiastic enough. 

It was far too easy.