Tommy Sallow is onto better and brighter things. After working a small hometown beat in upstate New York, he's finally in sunny California. As expected, it's the same shit in a different town. Except, you know, now he's near the ocean and miserable...
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"Look at this one, Tommy! This one's mine!" Mia calls out from the other side of her classroom, drawing my attention to a wall covered in artwork. How she got all the way over there so fast, leaving me in a pile of dust by the gigantic calendar is beyond me. This girl is fast.
Her fingers are tapping eagerly against a picture of a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end of it and, in my humble opinion, it's the best one on the wall. But I'm sure everyone says that when looking at the artwork of the special kid in their life.
"It's beautiful," I tell her. "The coins are so shiny with all that golden glitter."
She beams at me, a huge smile that brightens up the room as she continues giving me a tour of the room. She skipped recess with the rest of her class to show me around and my chest is squeezing with pride and happiness at every turn.
That's my Tommy.
I still can't believe she said that. I'll never forget it. But I'd also be lying if I said it didn't scare the shit out of me. The idea of what she and I are becoming to one another sometimes keeps me up at night. I can't quite put my finger on it but I think, deep down, I'm plain old worried I won't be what she needs in a potential father figure if this thing lasts. And as far as I'm concerned, it's definitely going to last. But my life has completely changed since these two came into my life and the pressure to succeed in the areas of what they both need is something I'm not familiar with just yet.
Loving them comes easy and being loved by Amber is a treasure I never imagined being mine. But Mia already has a dad. Her love for me will always be different and it should be, even with a piece of shit like Vince holding the first spot. Figuring out how I fit into this in the long run is tricky.
Just as we're running out of things to see in the classroom, Amber ducks in with a smile. It's the same hesitant smile that's been coming and going since we woke up this morning but it's still a smile, I guess.
"Everything good in here?" Her voice is low and she sounds exhausted.
"Yeah, we're all done," Mia tells her, jumping up into her arms for a hug. "I showed him everything. Did I miss lunch?"
"Not yet," Amber says with a small laugh. "We're going to head there now so Tommy can go enjoy the rest of his day off. We've kept him all morning."
"He likes it here," Mia states very confidently as her eyes travel over to me. "Right?"
"That's right," I tell her, looking over to Amber. My heart is pumping away in my chest like it wants to explode at the sight of her. She always looks hot in her work clothes. She looks hot in anything. But probably more so today because I've been looking at her all morning without being allowed to touch. Keeping my hands off of her in the name of professionalism has been a nightmare. I want to take her back to bed.
As if she can hear my thoughts, her mood seems to perk up just slightly and a little smirk plays on her lips as she meets my eyes. "You've been very popular with the staff here, handsome," she mutters softly, keeping her eyes pinned on mine for a second before giving me a shameless once over. Quick as a flash though, she's back in work mode, clearing her throat and giving Mia's braid a little yank. "Grab your lunch, sweetheart."
