Twenty-Eight
TWENTY-EIGHT
SOLEIL
I fold the egg over, tucking the cheese and spinach inside and it brings about flashbacks of the morning after our movie night at Malik’s.
Dahlia woke up before me and I came to with a startle as she hovered above me with a smile.
“Mommy. Did we have a sleepover with Mr. Dare?” Her voice was but a whisper –which is unusual for her– and her eyes were wide with excitement.
“Yes. You fell asleep before the movie ended and Mr. Dare thought it would be better if we just stayed the night.” She bounced up and down, letting out little squee’s and pumping her arms in the air. “Dahlia. You cannot tell anyone about this. Okay? It’s still our secret.”
Her face fell and the bouncing came to a stop. Apparently the secret holding was getting to be too much. I was definitely going to have to do something about that.
When we made our way downstairs after peeing, brushing our teeth –thanks to toothbrushes left out by Malik– and taming our massive bedhead, we were greeted with the smell of eggs and bacon.
Malik stood at the stove in shorts, a threadbare t-shirt, and an apron that, when he turned around, read “This is what an awesome teacher looks like” with two thumbs pointing at him.
I laughed and Dahlia followed suit even though I knew she couldn’t read all of it. Malik propped his hands on his hips, one holding a spatula, and said, “What? Do you disagree?”
“Not at all. I agree wholeheartedly. I just really hope that isn’t something you bought for yourself.”
His jaw dropped with a small smile. “No. I didn’t buy it for myself. It was given to me by a student who obviously thought I was awesome.”
We had a good laugh as he made us omelets –the only thing he can make, according to him– and ate together before I had to pry Dahlia away from him. She would’ve spent the entire day, and probably another night, if I had let her.
She was sad but when she went skipping into class the next morning, she was all giggles and smiles. Malik high fived her as she walked into class then discreetly touched my hand with a wink.
During one of his breaks he texted me,
Malik: Hello beautiful. I just want to tell you how much I miss you and wish you were in my arms. Date this Friday? Just you and I?
As badly as I wanted to do just that, I wasn’t sure that I could keep pawning Dahlia off on Kyle and my parents without her getting suspicious. I replied to him with what I thought was a clever idea.
Me: How about we happen to dine at the same place and we invite you to join us?
Malik: Sure. I just really want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you whenever I want. Can’t do that with my best and favorite student watching my every move. Unless you want to tell her?
Me: No. I’m not ready for that.
Malik: Then dinner run in, it is.
I knew he was disappointed but for now, that’s all I could offer him. Until I felt Dahlia was in a place to handle what being in a relationship with her teacher meant, our alone time would be few and far between.
I plate the omelet and set it down in front of Dahlia who sits at the counter, doodling on a paper.
“What are you drawing?” I ask her, turning my head to get a better look.
“A picture for Mr. Dare.”
I squint my eyes and see that the drawing is of three people –presumably Malik, Dahlia and myself– standing under a tree, holding hands and smiling big. I have flowers in my hand and Malik is holding something brown in his.
“What’s Mr. Dare holding?”
“Your brownies. He said that your brownies are the best he’s ever tasted.” I bite my lip thinking about what he tasted after Dahlia fell asleep that night.
I run my fingers through her long hair when the doorbell rings. We both turn our heads in the direction of the door, wondering who could be at our house at seven-fifteen in the morning.
“Finish up. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.” I walk to the door thinking, perhaps, it’s Kyle paying us an early morning visit, but she wouldn’t ring the doorbell.
That’s not her style. She’d just use her key and barge right in.
I look out the peephole and deepen my already furrowed brow. What in the hell is he doing here?
I flip open the locks and slowly pull the door open.
“Good morning,” he says, far too chipper for this early in the morning.
“Wesley? What are you doing here?” He stands with Mason next to him, both looking like they were invited.
“I thought we could drive to school together. Perhaps you and I could stop for a coffee on the way back.”
Is he fucking for real? Who just shows up at someone’s home uninvited? And let’s not forget that I barely know him and sure as shit didn’t give him my address.
“Um. How did you know where I lived?” I cross my arms over my chest and stand sturdy in the doorway.
“It was easy. I have your phone number so I just did a reverse search for your info.”
My stomach turns and bile works its way up my throat. This man went to such lengths and now I’m thinking I need to find a way to make all of that go away.
“I have a lot of work to do this morning. I won’t be able to join you for coffee. Thanks, though.”
“Oh it’s okay. We can still ride to school together and I’ll just bring you back home.” This guy is not getting the hint.
“Um…I…” Dahlia comes racing up just at that moment.
“Mommy. Who’s here? Oh. Hey Mason.” Her voice falls as does her face when she sees the two of them.
Same sister.
“Hey Dahlia. We came to go to school with you today.” Mason looks about as excited as his dad and I’m sure Dahlia looks about as thrilled as I do.
“Why don’t you go get your shoes and backpack and we can get going,” Wesley orders her and it has me turning up my nose.
“We are not quite ready, yet. Why don’t we just see you at school.” I try to brush him off.
This guy must’ve been bad at games when he was a kid because he’s still not cluing in on what I’m trying to politely and indirectly say.
“It’s okay. We’ll just wait for you.”
I stand there stunned for a moment, trying to figure out some way of getting out of this.
“Car seat?” I blurt out. “It will be too much of a hassle to switch car seats. We can just drive in our car and follow you there.” I give myself a mental pat on the back having thought of that one on my toes.
But that shoulder dust quickly blows away when he says, “Well how about we walk? Mason has his scooter in the back of the truck, and it’s only a few blocks. If we leave now we can be there with plenty of time. How does that sound, Mase? Want to ride your scooter?”
“Yay!” He shouts, jumping up and down.
“I want to ride my scooter, Mommy.” I look over my shoulder at Dahlia who stands there wiggling her sock covered toes. “Please.”
I look outside and see the sun shining and the air crisp but just right as the seasons prepare to change. If there is going to be any walking to school, this couldn’t be a more perfect morning for it. As badly as I want to say no to Wesley, I just can’t say no to my daughter.
With a sigh, I concede. “Okay. We’ll ride scooters. Go grab your shoes, little dove.”
The bright smile on Dahlia’s face is worth the misery I’ll be in for the next thirty minutes.I turn back to Wesley who still stands there looking weasley, and I shiver at the thought.
“Can you give us just a few minutes? I’ll grab her scooter and helmet and we’ll be right back.” Wesley waves at me as he walks back to his truck to presumably get Mason’s scooter.
I close the door and tap Dahlia on the bum. “Okay, little miss scooter tooter. Go get your shoes and I’ll get all the rest of your things.”
There is no argument or discussion to be had. She nods her head enthusiastically and hops off. I make a mad dash, tucking her lunch kit into her backpack, grabbing her scooter and helmet from the garage, and shoving my phone in my back pocket.
I freeze, thinking of a possible way out of the awkward walk back with only two scooters as a buffer between Wesley and I.
Me: Morning! So I have a situation. Wesley and Mason showed up at my door this morning –I’ll explain later– and it seems we are now walking to school. The last thing I want is to spend any alone time with this guy but I’m kind of stuck. What should I do?
I hit send then chew on my lip, waiting for him to respond. I don’t know how long it’s going to take since I’m sure he is already greeting the early students, so I tuck my phone back into my jeans after another minute passes without a response.
“I’m ready,” Dahlia sings as she comes running back into the living room.
“Okay. I guess we should go.”
With the scooter and helmet in hand, she opens the door and stops on the porch. I clip on her helmet and set the scooter down on the walkway, then go back to lock my door.
“Let’s go ladies. Your escorts await.” Wesley looks happy and jolly while I stand here full of dread.
That was the longest twenty minute walk of my entire life.
I hang Dahlia’s helmet on the handlebar of her scooter and set both in the bike rack. I finger through her tangled hair and take her hand.
“Do you ever have weekends free?” Wesley asks, holding the door open for the both of us to pass.
“Um, not really. My parents don’t live here and we don’t have any other family around.” The entire walk I had to listen to Wesley talk about his latest online dating disaster.
Apparently the woman had the nerve to show up and expect him to pay for dinner. The gall . My ick-o-meter was off the charts and then he asked me on yet another date.
“Well no worries,” he adds. “It can be a three person date. Wouldn’t that be fun, Dahlia?”
Now this dip-wad is employing my daughter to help him score a date. Dahlia stays mum and we reach the classroom where Malik stands at the door.
His jaw clenches and he greets us with a tight smile. Obviously he didn’t get my text and now he’s seeing red.
“Hi Mr. Dare. We rode our scooters to school this morning.” Dahlia hugs his legs and he pats her back.
“Did you? I bet that was fun. Morning Mason.” He greets the little boy who gives him a high five as he passes by.“Mr. Collier. Ms. Brooks. Good morning.”
“Hello.” I try to soften his mood with a warm smile but he isn’t taking the bait.
“Should we head back?” Wesley asks without giving Malik a second thought.
I open my mouth, hoping I choke in order to get out of spending one more second with this man.
“Ms. Brooks. Are you still available to assist me this morning?” Malik balls his hands into fists and slides them inside his pockets. “I have a bunch of packets that need to be put together for the fall activities and I just don’t think I can do them all on my own.”
I let out an audible gush of air when I realize what he’s doing. He did get the text and he’s throwing me a lifeline.
“Oh that’s right. I almost forgot. Yes, of course I can stay.” I hear the crunching of teeth and look over at Wesley.
Fire swirls in his eyes and his nostrils flare. It’s a standoff between fire and ice, and I’m the poor sucker stuck in the middle.
“Would you like me to wait for you, Soleil?” Wesley asks.
“That’s okay. I don’t know how long this will take and I’d hate for you to be late for work. Thanks for the walk. Have a good day.” I give him a quick wave and push past Malik into the classroom.
I’ve never volunteered in his class before and I don’t really know what to do. So I just go stand by his desk like I’m waiting for instructions.
“Hey kids. Dahlia’s mom is going to be helping out this morning, so let’s show her how we can be on our best behavior.” Dahlia cheers as do the other kids, and Malik struts his way over.
Lord, he’s so sexy. Seeing him in his teacher’s “uniform” is almost as good as his chef’s outfit he wore on Sunday. His scowl begins to fade as he draws closer. He finally stands near me and I feel like I can breathe again.
“What happened?” He towers in front of me, blocking the kids from having a view.
“He literally just showed up. When I asked how he knew my address, he said he did a reverse search with my cellphone number. Is that possible?”
I feel the slightest touch on my hand and look down to see Malik’s finger run across the back of mine.
“Unfortunately it is possible. There are a lot of sites where you can look up people’s information with just a few details. Usually for a fee. That means the creep was really desperate to have it.”
My stomach sours and dread rolls over my entire being. He has my number. He knows where I live. If he can find all of that through a simple site, I’m sure there is plenty more he can dig up.
I lay my hand on my stomach and feel the blood drain from my face.
“Are you okay?” Malik lays his hand on mine this time, and the warmth brings comfort.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Why don’t you hang out in the classroom for a couple of hours. You can read to the kids or just sit at my desk and fade away. Whatever you want. But I don’t want you walking home alone. Not with him out there.”
I nod and take a few deep breaths. “Give me something to do to take my mind off of it. I don’t care if it’s cutting paper or organizing your file cabinet. I’ll do anything that will allow me to check out.”
He squeezes my hand and turns to the class. “Kids. I am showing Ms. Brooks our supply closet. Please stay in your seats and continue working on your morning warm-ups.”
The kids all agree and put their heads back down to focus on their work. I follow him to the back of the room and through an open doorway I’ve never noticed. Open shelves line three walls stocked with paper, crayons, markers, tissue, snacks. Everything a kindergarten class would need.
My eyes take it all in when my body is suddenly pressed against the wall. Before I know what’s happening, Malik’s lips are on mine.
“Malik,” I whisper and try to push him away.
I don’t try very hard because in all honesty, I don’t want him to stop. I want to climb him like a tree and beg him to make me feel good just like the other night.
My nipples harden and he rubs his hard cock on my core. I practically melt, I’m so hot. When he pulls away, we’re both heaving for air.
“I wish I could take you home and fuck every worry out of you.” He rests his forehead on mine and closes his eyes. “Stay as long as you need. When you’re ready to leave, you can take my truck home and when you come to pick up Dahlia, I’ll drive you both home.”
“Malik. That isn’t necess–” He kisses me softly, swallowing my words.
“It is necessary. I won’t be able to sleep tonight without knowing you two are home safely. Okay?” His gaze is intense, full of worry and longing.
“Okay.”
He shows me a few things I can do, then leaves me with one last kiss. I work on various projects, read a story to the kids and when it’s time for lunch, I finally leave. And just like he insisted, I drive his truck home.
I’m nervous walking out of the school into the teacher parking lot. I keep looking around, waiting for someone to pop out and ask what I’m doing here. When no one rushes out, I climb into his truck and start it up. I adjust the seat and mirrors, but stop when something catches my eye.
A towel that looks like the one that went missing from my kitchen sits on the back seat. I study it, not wanting to move anything, but it must be purely coincidental. I bought the dish towel from Target, and I’m sure a thousand other people did as well.
I shake the thought off and head home, feeling a little lighter having spent the morning with my sweet girl and the man who has me utterly consumed.