Linger

T W E N T Y - O N E

My eyes widened upon hearing the guy's question and I turned to see Mr. Hayden who seemed to stiffen in his spot next to me.

Would Mr. Hayden correct him and tell him who I really was or would he just go along with the guy's assumption? 

I wasn't really sure if "Oh yeah, she's my student but we kinda hooked up for a bit then called it off but apparently can't stay away from each other and now here we are" was exactly the proper answer the guy wanted to hear, nor Mr. Hayden wanted to give.

I kept my gaze fixed on Mr. Hayden as he searched for the words and finally spoke up. "Ah, um-- Brandon, this is Madison," he told the young man.

"Hi." I gave a small smile to Brandon, which he returned with a huge grin. 

"And Madison, this is my brother, Brandon." He gestured to Brandon.

"I'm Daniel's smarter and much cooler older brother," Brandon added with a smirk as he slipped  a pair of dark shades on and swung his arm around Mr. Hayden's shoulder. His remark earned a giggle from me and a scoff from Mr. Hayden.

"Hey Bran, don't you have a game to get to?" Mr. Hayden asked, changing the subject and I was thankful no further questions were asked about Mr. Hayden and I's relationship. Or lack thereof.

Brandon had to know his brother was a teacher. But did he know that I, the girl he referred to as 'his lucky lady', was really his student? What would he think? What would the rest of his family think?

My mind started spinning with all sorts of anxious thoughts and suddenly being here and talking with Mr. Hayden didn't seem like the best idea.

Why couldn't I just grab the blanket and go straight back to the bleachers with everyone else?

Because a certain pair of warm brown eyes seems to influence your reasoning, my conscience replied with a snark.

"Madison? Madison?" Mr. Hayden's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What? Sorry." I shook my head, turning my attention to the two brothers standing in front of me.

"We were just asking if you were rooting for the right team." Brandon laughed, snagging a cookie from one of the boxes Mr. Hayden was holding. 

Mr. Hayden eyed his actions in shock. "Hey--"

"Right team?" My mind scrambled for the name of the soccer team my sister played for as my eyes landed on the small logo patched on Daniel's hoodie. "The Blue Jackets!" I exclaimed.

"Alright!" Brandon extended his arm out toward me and I gave him a high five. "I like her." He nodded his head at his brother with approval before taking a bite of the cookie.

Mr. Hayden turned to look at me, a hint of a twinkle in his brown eyes glistening that I had grown fond of, and a small smile tugging on his lips. Although he still had dark circles under his eyes & his hair was a perfectly imperfect disheveled mess on top of his head, he looked much more full of life than he had earlier when he appeared so tired and worn out. "So do I," he replied softly, only for me to hear.

I quickly averted my gaze and looked down at my sneakers.

Don't get me wrong, I loved how open Mr. Hayden was being now compared to earlier. But I could only handle so much of him admitting his feelings for me in one day, or one morning rather. With each time he expressed his admiration, it felt like a cut going deeper and deeper, knowing that we couldn't be together, no matter how much we wanted to. The pain was too much.

I quickly searched for a way to return the conversation back to a more neutral and less emotional topic. "Um, are you gonna play?" I asked Brandon.

"Me? Hey, that's not a bad idea!" His green eyes lit up as he gave me a cheeky smile. "Say, maybe after chatting with the refs for a bit . . ." He turned to Daniel. "It might take some convincing but I think--"