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I met him for an early dinner down the street from my condo. “I’m not trying to be a stranger, I’m just trying not to be a bother. You’re busy.”
He pulls away, hands on my shoulders and looking down at me. “Never too busy for my little sis.”
“Be that as it may, I’m not here to be a burden. You’re in season. I know how it is.”
He squeezes my shoulders and his hands drop. “You should come to more practices. You’re coming to the game on Sunday, right?”
I nod. “I’ll be there.”
“Good stuff. Want me to drive you home?” He glances over my shoulder in the direction of my condo.
I shake my head. “I’ll walk. It’s a decent night.”
He obviously doesn’t like my answer because the corners of his lips press together, but he doesn’t argue. “All right. Text me when you get home, okay?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not texting you when I get home. It’s three blocks.” I walk backward away from him. “Bye, big brother.”
He pushes a hand through the curls on top of his head. “Be careful.” He uses his dad voice.
Rather than respond, I turn and give him a wave.
It was good to see him. We had a nice dinner, even if I felt mildly guilty the entire time because of what happened with Chase when we were watching TV.
We still haven’t talked about it. Things were weird when I left that night, but when I saw him a couple of nights later, we both seemed content to pretend it had never happened. And I’m still processing how I feel about that.
On the one hand, we’re asking for trouble. On the other hand, I’ve never felt as safe as I did in his arms. I already knew I was attracted to him—I’m pretty sure most women who come in contact with him are—but that night reconfirmed to me that he makes me feel safe and protected. Truthfully, it wasn’t even something I knew I wanted, but when he held me, I sucked up that feeling like a sponge.
I push those thoughts from my head. Chase hasn’t made it a big deal, so why am I? I’m probably just reading into it. Still, that doesn’t mean I haven’t imagined—a thousand times between then and now—what it would feel like to belong to him.
My phone buzzes in my jacket and I pull it out, finding Violet’s name across the screen. “Hey, how are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
I step around a woman pushing her stroller. “Just had a nice dinner with my brother. I’m headed back to the condo now.”
“Oh nice. Well, the reason I’m calling is because I heard something when I was volunteering at Theo’s school today that I thought you might be interested in.”
I tilt my head. “What?”
“One of the moms who helps out all the time has to move away suddenly because of her husband’s job, and the school needs someone to monitor lunch for the second-grade class as well as help out in the classroom sometimes.”
My hand flies to my chest. “Really? That would be amazing!” Excitement fizzes through me. I love being in San Francisco, but I’m sick of only talking to Kiwi.
“I got the feeling you missed being around kids the other night,” she says warmly.
“I do. So much.” I stop on the curb and wait for the light to turn.
“There’s a police background check that has to be done and other paperwork, but it shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ll text you the address and the name of the person at the school to talk with.”
“This is amazing. Thank you, Violet. I’ll get in touch with them first thing tomorrow.” The light changes and I walk across the street, feeling lighter and happier.
“And the bonus is that we’ll get to see each other more.”
“Definite bonus.” I laugh. “I’m really excited. Thanks for thinking of me.”
We chat for another couple minutes until Theo needs something from her and we hang up.
I’m brimming with excitement by the time I walk through the condo doors. I have to tell Chase. We were just discussing the other night how I missed teaching. This might not be the same thing, but I’ll get to be back in a school and around children again.
