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That may or may not have been the longest week of my life, but today is the day I will finally get to see Spencer again. Olive left all of the necessary paperwork I would need for Patrick, so we are all set. It’s still pretty hot, so Pat and I are both rocking shorts and t-shirts tonight. He made me do his hair like mine because he’s a big boy now that he’s going to kindergarten. Damn, I love this kid and couldn’t deny styling his hair or picking out his best clothes so he could impress Ms. Wilson even though I knew she was going to love him.
We make it to the school 15 minutes early, but there is already a steady stream of people making their way in. I walk in the door and my gut rolls when I see a tall, curvy blond greeting everyone as they walk in. I knew Aileen worked for a school, but I couldn’t tell you which one before this day. Most of the time we spent with each other, there wasn’t a whole lot of talking.
Unfortunately for me, our mutually beneficial arrangement came to a screeching halt when she started showing up at the bar and acting possessive as if I was her boyfriend. We talked about it, and she claimed to be on the same page, but only a week later I had to ask her to leave when she started tearing into a customer for flirting with her man when she most definitely did not have that claim.
It was embarrassing for both of us as I had to drag her out the back door through the employee entrance in an attempt not to cause an even bigger scene. It was only made worse when she started freaking out and telling me how big of a jerk I was for leading her on for over a month. When I tried to calmly talk to her about how I never hinted at wanting to date and checked in with her about where we stood, she never mentioned feelings changing. She yelled more about me being a player and several other things before finally storming off, but thankfully I hadn’t heard from or seen her since then.
Spencer was actually the first woman I was with since her certain brand of crazy had me a little nervous to get back out there. What the hell are the odds that she would be the assistant principal here? Aileen’s smile instantly drops as soon as she sees me walk in the door and I suck in a breath to prepare for the onslaught.
Patrick notices a friend just as we make it to Aileen and asks to go say hi before darting off as soon as he sees me nod, yes. “Pat, stay where I can see you, please.” He just gives me a thumbs up as he and a little boy start to talk animatedly with lots of laughter. I forget about Aileen for a minute and just smile at the enthusiasm pouring off of Pat.
“You are the last person I expected to see here. Is he an accident as a result from one of your many conquests?” Her sneer makes me question what the hell I saw in her in the first place. Sure, she’s attractive, but the crazy coming off her in waves should’ve been a warning to stay the hell away from her. It takes all of my control to not snap back. Say what you want about me, but leave Pat and Olive out of it.
“Nice to see you too, Aileen. And no, he’s not a mistake but one of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet and my nephew. My sister had to work and couldn’t make it.”
“Seriously? And she entrusted something as important as this to you?”
“Absolutely. I help her out with Pat and I’m a damn good uncle.” Her disbelief is visible and it takes everything in me to leave it at that.
“So you say, but I can’t see how anyone as self centered could ever be relied upon. You can’t even maintain a relationship.”
“Aileen, that’s enough. This is in no way professional, and I will not stand by while you talk down about my sister, nephew, or myself. If you can’t find a way to remain civil and keep your nasty opinions to yourself, then I will have no problem talking to the principal about it. She’s actually one of my regulars at The Tavern and an extremely lovely woman.” Her face pales at my words, and I can’t help the little smirk of satisfaction. But of course, my dumbass can’t leave that be all that’s said.
“And for your information, I am in a relationship and have been for a while. I think you’d be surprised she’s someone you not only know, but also work with.” At that, she scoffs but I think better of engaging her further. I move over to Pat and steer him into the cafeteria where the night kicks off.
I’m so irritated with myself, but I can’t help but scan the faces for the one that I know will put me at ease. I’m glad I didn’t name drop her to Aileen, or else I know I would be regretting it.
The hair stands up at the back of my neck, and I know she’s here somewhere. I turn towards the door and see her glide in. She’s so fucking stunning that it takes my breath away. Her honey hair is in a high ponytail with the ends swaying with each step she takes. My eyes lower to the craziest dress I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of Miss Frizzle from The Magic School bus. The design is the solar system with the planets and the stars. Her smile brightens the room, and I can’t wait to get closer to her.
The kids get to go for a bus ride while the adults head to their classrooms to get all of the important paperwork out of the way. I give Pat a fist bump and wait for most of the room to empty before I stand and head towards Spencer’s classroom. The halls are a bit of a maze due to the construction, but I find my way to Spencer’s class easy enough. She’s waiting at the door greeting the parents as they come in and I’m glad that it looks like I’m the last one to come.
Spencer turns my way and sucks in a huge breath as her eyes go wide. “Maverick, what are you doing here?” Her face flushes and it takes everything in my power to not run my thumb over her plump bottom lip.
“Olive had the evening shift and couldn’t get anyone to switch. Besides, it made sense for me to come even if she were here since I will be doing drop offs and pick ups just as much as her.”
“Oh, well yes, of course that makes sense. Um, come in and take a seat wherever.” She waves her hand towards the back of the class as she hurries up front and puts as much distance between us as possible. She makes her way through the packet of paperwork and avoids looking at me if at all possible. It doesn’t take long for her to get lost in what she’s doing, and it’s not hard to see how much she loves her job and imagine what kind of teacher she is.
After filling out all the paperwork, she takes us on a tour of the school to show us everywhere our kiddos will be. We also get to meet several other teachers in our wandering. I can’t help but look for her douchebag ex in the hallways. Thankfully, I don’t run into him. I don’t think I’d be able to hold back from telling him how fucking stupid he is for letting Spencer go.
We all head back to the classroom and Spencer takes the time to break down what a day will look like for the kids. She has sign-ups for each child to bring in a snack once a month, but leaves a discreet option for a parent if they aren’t able to provide a snack. And in turn, she leaves an option for parents to sign up for extra snack duty. I make a note to make sure that I sign Pat up for extra snacks. It’s the least I can do seeing as we can afford it, and I’m a chef. I’m sure I can come up with some delicious snacks that are also healthy that the kids will love.
Just as Spencer starts to explain the lunch schedule with the bonus options for the picky eaters, the door opens and Olive walks in wearing her scrubs and obviously coming straight from the hospital. I stand and give her a quick hug and to give her my seat. I wasn’t expecting her, but I’m glad she was able to make it.
I slide all of the paperwork I have her way to look through while I listen to Spencer. I can’t help but study her every move and imagine her in front of a classroom full of kids. It’s no surprise to me that she was given this position as soon as she graduated. She’s a natural with handling us adults, so I can only imagine how good she is with the kids.
She’s just wrapping up the end of the day procedures when giggles and tiny feet can be heard coming down the hall. Her face pulls into an excited smile, and she’s even more breathtaking. Kids file into the room and she instantly turns her focus to them. Each and every one of them are enraptured by her. Olive pulls me away from my staring with a quick tug on my hand.
“Did you have any issues with the paperwork?” I’m glad to see that she’s not actually looking at me. I’m sure she would’ve seen the dopey ass smile only Spencer seems to be able to pull from me these days and I’m not sure if I’m ready to explain why I’m looking at Ms Wilson that way.
“Yeah, it was pretty straight forward. We’re in charge of snack once a month, but I signed Pat up to do extra. And before you even start worrying about it, don’t. I’ll have Pat help me make the snacks for the class.”
“Thanks, Mav. You’re the best.”
“Eh, I don’t know about that. How did you manage to get off? I didn’t think you were going to make it.”
“My boss, Chayse, is wonderful and had my coworker come in for a few hours so I could make it. I felt bad, but she insisted. I actually didn’t even ask her. She heard me talking to one of the other nurses and saw how upset I was about missing it, so she said she’d figure out a way to get me here. Thankfully, Landon was able to come in and that put me at ease, because I know he won’t hold the favor over my head.”
“Did you say Chayse? That has to be Spencer’s sister. I can’t imagine there’s more than one Chayse who works at the hospital.”
