Sweetheart

ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛʜᴇᴀʀᴛ

You were fairly new to the town of Knockemstiff, you had moved here at the beginning of the summer for your new job as a high school teacher. It was so rare for a teacher to be able to teach high school students without a lot of years of experience that when they offered you the job, you accepted on the spot and didn't even think twice about moving.

Knockemstiff was a small county where everyone knows everyone and strangers don't go unnoticed. The apartment you were renting was a little secluded and no one really noticed when you had moved in. Until one day, you decided to take a walk to familiarize yourself with the town that was now your new home. People started noticing you and it didn't take long for the word to get around that there was a new woman in Knockemstiff. You could feel their eyes on you as you walked around and you smiled shyly at anyone you made eye contact with.

When it got to be too much, you walked in the diner and took a seat in a booth to try and hide from prying eyes.

You had been deep into thoughts, reading the menu over when you heard someone clear their throat. You looked up from your menu and saw a man standing next to your table's free booth in front of you.

The man was tall and well built, he had on a uniform that fit him perfectly and not a single wrinkle could be seen on his clothes. He had on a dark leather jacket and he was holding his hat against his chest. He was very handsome and you could feel your cheeks starting to burn up under his gaze.

Unless you were standing in front of a classroom full of kids, you were extremely shy. A little bit awkward, even.

When your eyes met his, it felt like all the air had been stolen from your lungs. The man in front of you was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to his eyes.

''Hey, there.'' The man smiled at her. ''I heard there was a new face in town. I thought I'd introduce myself. Sheriff Lee Bodecker.''

He held out his hand for you to shake it, and you did while telling him your name.

''Pleased to meet you, Sheriff.'' You smiled.

He waved his hand around. ''Lee's fine, sweetheart.'' He pointed at the free booth next to him. ''May I sit? Or were you waiting for your boyfriend?''

Smooth, Lee. Real smooth. He thought to himself.

He had only used his job as an excuse to introduce himself to you. The entire morning he had heard people around town talking about the new teacher, most of the men making comments at your beauty but nothing could have prepared him for the moment he saw you walk in with your gorgeous smile and shy demeanor. A woman like you probably had a husband and if not, a boyfriend at the very least but he still took a chance.

''Oh.'' You chuckled. ''I stopped waiting a long time ago. Please, sit.'' You smiled at him.

That was your first meeting with Lee, and for the rest of the summer it became somewhat of your own little ritual to meet at the diner every day for lunch until he had to go back to the station or on patrol.

Lee had been divorced for over a year, and it had been a very nasty divorce. He used to drink a lot, and he treated his wife like dirt until one day she had enough and she walked out on him. He didn't blame her, he understood even but it still broke his heart. He quit drinking in the hopes that maybe she would take him back but too much damage had been done and he had to let her go. He had grieved and moved on but he hadn't dared to go out on a date since then. Who would he have asked anyway? Most women in town were married or didn't want anything to do with him so the thought never really crossed his mind.

Until you.

It took him the entire summer before he gathered enough courage to ask you out and he had been terrified you might say no. He doesn't remember ever laughing this much with someone, not even with his ex-wife, and he didn't want to lose that special bond.