Ire's POV
She wasn't blind. Ire could see the growing sexual tension between Colton and Teagan, but they refused to do anything about it. Teagan "claimed" to hate him, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Letting out a long sigh, Ire jumped when she heard a knock on the door. Who could that be?
She opened the door to see Colton and Teagan. "Hey, you guys. Come on in." Ire greeted them. She wore her hair in layered rows of braids along her scalp, with one strand of hair showing blue highlights. Her hairstyle complimented her round face, her skin a deep, reddish-brown.
"I like your hair," Teagan commented.
"Thanks, you wouldn't believe all the pain I had to go through to get it done." Ire patted her head, wincing when she felt a sharp pain run through the edge of her scalp. She couldn't help it; she was tender-headed after all.
"Well, you know what people say: no pain, no gain," Teagan said, feeling empathy for Ire.
Ire smiled. "Thank you. Now, Colton's parents told me that you offered to babysit Diane?"
"Yep, that's right!" Colton piped up.
"So, the two of you are going to babysit his sister...alone...with no parents around?" Ire gave the two a sarcastic scoff. "I'll believe it when I see it." She gestured between the two of them. "Are you guys aren't going to be making googly eyes at each other the whole time through?"
"Please, Ire." Teagan wrapped an arm around Colton's shoulder. "Colton's just a friend."
Ire arched an eyebrow. She's kidding, right?
"You sure about that?" Ire asked, giving her a side-eye.
Teagan crossed her arms. "What? It's true. He is my friend."
Colton sensed the growing tension between the two girls, reluctant to get involved. "Mom, we're downstairs," he called out.
His mother walked down the steps, smiling when she saw Ire, Colton and Teagan all together. She rushed up to her son first, kissing him on the cheek. "Mom, please..." He pleaded, hearing the girls giggle behind him at her open display of affection.
His mother turned her attention toward the girls. "Hey, you guys. How's everything going? Colton told me that you−" she gestured to Teagan. "Wanted to help him babysit Diane. Is that right?"
Teagan nodded, his mother's friendly demeanor causing her shoulders to relax.
"Diane, Teagan is here to see you, sweetie!" Colton's mom called out from the bottom of the stairs.
Colton's little sister emerged from her room, wearing a bright pink tutu with a tiara on her head. She giggled, rushing down the steps in glee. "Teagan!" she exclaimed, rushing up to her to give her a hug.
"Hey, Diane. How's my favorite person in the world?" Teagan said, causing Colton to frown slightly.
"Hey! I thought I was your favorite person." He stated, watching as Teagan lifted Diane up in the air and back down again.
Teagan turned back to him, her answer sounding more like a question. "Oh, uh, you're definitely a close...second?"
Colton looked slightly offended, his frown depending when he heard Ire laugh behind him.
His mother wiped a tear from her eye, joining in on the teasing. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Now, here is the list of things Diane needs to do for the day, me and my husband's phone numbers in case anything were to go wrong and don't worry about a thing. Ire will be here to guide you if you guys need any help."
YOU ARE READING
From Conundrums to Kisses | ONC 2020
Short Story[ONC Longlister] Teagan's beloved family bakery is struggling, and her fear of taking risks has them losing more customers by the day. Enter Colton, a guy who is stealing her customers away but also could be the answer to her current predicament, wh...
