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Toward the end of the meal, she excused herself for a few minutes to use the little girl’s room. When she didn’t return in a few minutes, I glanced at Clark. “Should we be worried?”
He snorted. “No. She’s probably already calling people to give them the news.”
Toby got up and peeked into the next room, then returned, quietly giggling. “Yeah, she’s on the phone. She’s really excited.”
“Looks like tonight was a success.”
“Thankfully,” Clark said, “because I never want to go through that again.”
“You really don’t like getting compliments, and that’s a problem, Clark.”
“It is?”
“Yeah.” I grinned. “You see, I tend to lavish my dates with praise.”
“Oh god.” He covered his already blushing face with his hands. “Don’t make me regret this!”
Well, one thing was for sure. If tonight was any indication, fake dating Clark was going to be fun.
CHAPTER12
CLARK
I stoodat the front of the bus, all eyes on me, as we prepared to disembark for our field trip to Golden Arches, the senior living center in Granville. The students were buzzing with energy, excited to get out of the classroom.
I tried to focus on them, rather than the man sitting in the front seat, eyes on me. My soon-to-be date, Hunter Rhodes, who’d volunteered to help today. Across the aisle was Cheryl King, another parent—divorced mother of two—who’d been watching us with eagle eyes today. But no wonder. Nana had primed the gossip mill, and now word was traveling that he was everything from my boyfriend to my fiancé to my cry for attention because there was no way Hunter Rhodes would date a man, much less Clark Fletcher!
I had to admit, that last one stung, but it was true. I was a history nerd. Even if Hunter could be attracted to a guy, he wasn’t likely to go for a shrimp in a bowtie. And strangers weren’t the only ones gossiping. I’d gotten a series of texts ranging from teasing from Bennett:Dude, do we have another date to look forward to at trivia this weekend?!to a more serious one from Joe:This gossip can’t be true, right? I mean, after what happened in Omaha… Call me, man.
I was not ready to face any of them, so I’d shot off asorry, so busy, get back to you later,and then muted my text streams. Eventually, I’d have to face my friends, but I wasn’t ready to handle the full grilling until I’d managed to wrap my own head around the situation.
Now was not the time to be processing though. I pushed it all out of my head and focused on the kids.
“Okay, listen up, everyone! I know you’re excited, but when we get inside, we’re going to be quiet and respectful. We’re here to listen and learn from our elders. These folks know more about Granville’s past than I can ever teach you. They lived a lot of it. But please be polite. Don’t call them old or emphasize how long ago they were young, okay? Just ask them if they can tell you some stories from earlier days in Granville. Take lots of notes.”
I had planned a few trips out into the community during the semester. We’d also visit the county museum and the primary news blog,Inside Granville, as well as each historic location where we’d perform so that we could do stage rehearsals.
The kids all nodded along, so I figured that was as good as it was going to get and led them out of the short bus. Toby was first off after me, buzzing with excitement. Since he didn’t have a mentor, I’d told him to stick with me while the other kids paired off. Hunter and Cheryl were last off the bus, and what do you know, Cheryl was giggling and clinging to his arm like some sort of teenage bimbo.
“Mr. Fletcher, I had no idea Hunter’s son was in your program or I would have made sure we ran into each other before now,” she said with a little laugh. “We went to school together. He was on varsity basketball, and I was a cheerleader!”
I smiled gamely. “And I was on the scholars bowl team.”
She laughed. “That’s funny.”
“I knew you were smart,” Hunter said, “but that explains why you’re so good at trivia.”
“Lifelong nerd. That’s me.”
He frowned, but I turned to the kids gathered around. “Okay, you all. When we get in there, the event coordinator will introduce us, then you can split up into mentor teams and find someone to talk with. Did you all bring your gifts?”
All the kids raised small gift boxes I’d put together before the trip. I knew some of these residents didn’t get a lot of visitors, and I wanted to bring a little something special to brighten their day. It wasn’t much, just a book of crosswords, lotion, tissues, and sugar-free candy. I’d gotten the recommendations from the staff to make sure I didn’t get anything off-limits.
We headed inside, Cheryl sticking close to Hunter, and me trying not to notice. I wasn’t jealous. We hadn’t even been on one fake date, and I knew none of it was real. I was just annoyed because there was no way Cheryl hadn’t heard the rumor that Hunter had asked me to dinner. The way she kept cutting her gaze to me, checking my reaction? She knew.
She just thought her feminine wiles would work on Hunter, and who was I to say they wouldn’t? The man was straight. He might be tired of the come-ons from women who didn’t interest him, but that didn’t mean one wouldn’t come along who piqued his interest. Cheryl was a gorgeous woman, with a bit of a Norwegian look to her with high cheekbones.
Focus on your job, Clark.
