Jake stepped into the school's elevator. The scent of lavender assailed him. His gut tightened. Ms. Thorne gasped, her gaze wide then wild as she tried to look at anything but him. Her hands gripped the box of supplies she carried.
A bitter satisfaction filled him, because he been right—she had been avoiding him for the past month. Anytime he dropped off Jayden and he stopped to talk to her face to face, she always said, "I'm so sorry. Right now time is tight. Email me?"
He would and their interaction would be dry as week-old bread. Now, with a rare day off work during the weekday, he had come to school after hours to ask her if he'd done something or just to find out WTF? He'd thought they had moved past her reticence with him after Back to School night. He had even started to look forward to the school year with her as Jayden's teacher. Every day Jayden had come home from daycare happy and full of Ms. Thorne stories.
He hated dancing around the truth, at least with everyone but Jayden. "I would ask if you had a moment, but I'm pretty sure once we're out of this elevator you'll disappear into smoke."
The way her gaze flew to the doors almost made him want to hit the emergency stop button.
She cleared her throat. "What do you need?"
"I need to know why you've been avoiding me."
Her brows shot up as she pursed her lips. He knew a lie would fall out next. Jake waved his hand. "Just tell me."
The elevator rolled to a stop and dinged to let them know they'd made it to the second floor. She stepped forward, likely intent to make a run for it, but the doors didn't slide apart. He frowned and punched the OPEN button. He gave it two seconds before he did it again. Nothing happened. He jabbed the button a few more times for good measure.
She gaped at him. "Please tell me you're hitting the CLOSE button."
He infused all the calm he could find in his voice. "Are you claustrophobic?"
"No." Her brown eyes widened, alarm darkening the shade in degrees of realization. "Why?"
"That's good, at least. And the answer is no. I'm hitting open." He checked for a panel where an emergency phone might be, and there wasn't any on either side of the doors. He dug out his cell and punched the 9 for a speed dial.
"911, what's your emergency?" a female voice said.
After answering the dispatcher's list of questions that made it clear no one was in immediate danger, he was told the wait time. He ended the call then took in his son's teacher. Her eyes were still wide, but she wasn't hyperventilating. Another good sign.
He said, "Good news first or bad news?"
She put down the box of supplies. When she straightened, she squinted at him then up toward the heavens. A second later, her chuckle echoed in the small space then finally she plopped next to the box of supplies on the floor.
He laughed, loving her dramatic attitude to the shit news "It's going to be an hour wait, at the least."
"I'm so glad I went to the restroom before all this and changed into my Chucks."
Jake let his gaze rove over her. Purple tulips decorated the white shirt. Her slacks were a soft gray, but her shoes were the most interesting. They looked like she'd let kids decorate the black material, and given her occupation, she probably had. There was SpongeBob, more SpongeBlob, flowers and hearts.
Anyone checking out her shoes would assume the woman attached had a fun streak a mile wide. Except, she was squinting at him again. He followed her lead by sitting on the floor. His legs reached hers on the opposite side. She didn't flinch away from the touch. He'd take that as a sign she'd resigned herself to being stuck with him for the foreseeable future.
YOU ARE READING
JAKE'S BAILEY
Fantasy..Bailey Thorne doesn't hate Jake the Rake, just despises him. She blames the rumor mill at her school...and, okay, him. His adorable son has only been in preschool, but Jake has already made an impressive dent in dating the unmarried faculty. She's...
