Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
As summer dwindled down, I found myself in a new routine.
During the week, I’d head over to the school and meet up with Brad and the other teachers to plan for the first few weeks of instruction, leaving with blood on my tongue after biting it all day.
Despite my years of experience, Brad seemed to enjoy undermining me at every turn, questioning everything I brought up during our grade-level meetings.
Which was fine. I never minded having input from others.
But with Brad, it was just constant negativity, because he was a lazy asshole who only cared about himself.
And that was where I drew the line.
When we wrapped up our meeting for the day, Brad didn’t bother to say goodbye, claiming he had too much work back home. Good riddance. Before I did the same, my principal stopped me.
“Brianna, are you alright?”
No, not even a little. You’ve tied me to the world’s biggest narcissist for the year, and I’m not sure how I’m going to survive the next ten days, much less the next ten months.
“Fine,” I said, hiding my retort behind my most professional smile. "We’ll make it work; we always do.”
“That’s true,” Ethan answered, leaning back in one of the conference room chairs.
Ethan Cutler had been my mentor for almost a decade, and above everyone else, I trusted his opinion.
Over the years, he’d put me in some challenging positions, but it was always to help me grow as a teacher.
This time, though, I failed to see the point of pairing me with Brad.
It was a partnership destined to fail, and while it might bruise my ego, I only cared about the kids in our shared class.
Discord between us would affect them the most, and I refused to be the one who let that happen.
As I stepped into the doorway, I paused, tapping my nails on the steel frame. “Why him?” I whispered as I turned to face Ethan. “Out of all the teachers in the school, why did you pair us together?”
Ethan sighed and steepled his fingers together. “Because I wanted to see if Brad would rise to the challenge. If anyone can help him pull his head out of his ass, it’s you, Brianna.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you supposed to tell me that?”
“Probably not,” Ethan laughed. He paused then stood and shut the door behind me. “Between you and me, there are going to be some changes over the next few years in our district. The superintendent is planning on retiring, and he’s been asking around about quality candidates to replace him.”
“Are you…?”
“Perhaps.” Ethan smiled. “I might toss my hat in the ring, but there’s still time before anything happens, and who knows what might change before that day? However, if I were to leave, I want to make sure my school would be in the right hands.” He gave me a pointed look. “Preferably yours.”
“Mine?” I squeaked, bringing my hand up to my chest. “I don’t even have my admin certification.”
“You started taking the courses. What happened?”
I chewed my lower lip. “My life sort of spiraled downhill. Figured I should put those goals to bed until things got better.” I let out a humorless laugh. “That ship seems to have sailed.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ethan answered.
“Brianna, it’s not my place to comment on your personal life, and I would never want to make you uncomfortable, but I will say you’ve seemed lighter since your divorce.
Sure, there was that usual mourning period, but everyone could see Todd was weighing you down.
Now, you have the chance to go for what you want.
If it’s admin, go for it. There aren’t many people I’d want to see take my chair, and it would be an honor to pass this school over to you.
” Ethan shrugged, like he hadn’t just upended my life with a few brief sentences.
“I’d like you to consider it. If you decide it’s not the route you’d like to take, then I support your choice. ”
I paused, only able to nod my head slightly.
Was this what I wanted? Once upon a time, I’d applied for my school building leadership certification.
Todd pushed me to so I could bring home more money, but my heart wasn’t in it.
Now, however, pursuing my admin degree held more appeal.
I’d reached the end of what I could do as a teacher, and this might be the right step if I wanted to make a lasting change.
Before I turned to leave, I frowned at Ethan. “So this whole Brad thing, is it some kind of a test?”
“Not exactly,” he said. “But, if you decide to pursue this route, there are many people who’ll walk through that door without the right intentions. You still need to motivate them, help them become a teacher worthy of our students. Consider this a trial run.”
“I can’t believe he might leave,” Hadley said as she scooped a handful of popcorn. “Mr. Cutler is an institution at that place.”
“Right?” I groaned as I dipped my head back, waiting impatiently for the commercials to end so we could get back to the game.
Wait, what? When did I become this person?
If someone had told me last year that I would spend my Friday nights with my friends watching a baseball game and yelling at the umpires on screen, I would have laughed.
Yet, here we all were.
Hadley and Victoria had come over earlier in the day with Emilia, all wearing their matching Seda jerseys for Cam.
We’d made burgers and veggies on the grill, talking about the latest changes in our lives.
Hadley was in full-on wedding planning mode and surprised Ollie and me with little gifts asking us to be her bridesmaids.
Of course, we both said yes instantly, already looking forward to the wedding.
Victoria was the maid of honor, and as Hadley helped prepare our dinner, she filled us in on her plans for the bachelorette party.
While the flower girl, Emilia, tried to convince her mother to let her come to the party too, we all sat back, looking over the dozens of pictures Hadley saved on her online boards.
“So, what did you tell him?” Victoria asked from the other couch.
“That I’d think about it,” I said. “As much as I love teaching, this seems like it might be the best next step. I’ve already completed half the coursework, so I’d be able to finish my certification in the next eighteen months or so.”
“I say go for it,” Hadley announced. “You’re already helping run that school. Might as well get the paycheck too.”
“Seconded!” Ollie yelled from the kitchen.
I shook my head and grabbed my empty cup. Time for a refill. As yet another medication commercial came on the screen, I stood and moved to the kitchen. At least, that was the plan until I turned, and all the voices in the apartment went silent.
“What?” I asked.
“Umm, are you going to tell us why you’re wearing Damien’s jersey?” Hadley yelled, jumping to my side and twisting me to see the back again. “I knew something was going on!”
“You did not,” Victoria teased.
“Okay, I didn’t like know, know, but I hoped it was!” Hadley clapped her hands together. “Okay, details, Bri. Need every single one.”
“Good luck with that.” Ollie snorted. “This one holds her secrets tight. She won’t even tell me, and I’m pretty sure I orchestrated this whole thing.”
“You did not. We got together weeks before that,” I mumbled as I walked into the kitchen, keeping my words low so no one else heard them. At least, I thought I did.
“WHAT?” Ollie yelled. “You’ve been holding out on me, Brianna Sideris!”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I said after I filled my glass and walked back over to the couch. “We might have…connected in Dallas during the all-star game, but it’s not like we’re dating. We’re just spending time together.”
“Uh huh,” Hadley said, not believing a word that came out of my mouth.
Not that I blamed her; I didn’t even believe them anymore.
Over the past month, things between Damien and me had shifted.
Some nights, when I went over, we didn’t even sleep together, instead cooking or me learning little phrases in Spanish.
It was still the most fun I’d had in years.
There was much more to Damien than I’d ever realized, and I enjoyed being around him—not only because of the orgasms, but because of how alive he made me feel.
Hadley narrowed her eyes at me. “If it’s not a big deal, then why are you wearing his jersey?
You know that’s, like, a thing for these guys.
Showing up in your man’s number screams committed. ”
Internally, I knew the moment I slipped his jersey over my tank top, but the idea of not wearing it made my stomach sour.
Even if he wasn’t here to see it, watching Damien play in anything else seemed wrong.
I shrugged, trying to imbue as much casualness as I could into the gesture.
“It’s just a jersey, Hads. Now that rock on your finger, that’s a commitment. ”
“Oh, I know!” Hadley continued, ignoring my comment. “You should fly out with me and Ollie tomorrow! You can surprise Damien while we surprise Cam and Parker.”
“What about me?” Emilia frowned.
“You get to come next time,” Hadley said as she clutched her future stepdaughter against her thigh. “Besides, Mommy and Adam have something awesome planned for you.”
“You do?” Emilia said as she looked at her mother.
“We might.” Victoria smirked. “But only if you have a good week in school. No more threatening the boys if they say something.”
“But they were being stupid,” Emilia groaned. “It’s not my fault they didn’t think before they opened their mouths.”
Victoria shook her head but failed to hold back her grin. They were in for it when Emilia got older. At seven, she was already a spitfire and could hold her own with most adults. “That’s true, but you need to rise above it, Em. Don’t let them pull you down to their level.”
“Fine.” Emilia sighed as she plopped down on the couch. “This better be a good surprise.”
As the game resumed and we found our spots for the next couple of innings, all talk of Damien and the other guys faded away.
Instead, we focused on each play, dissecting every single call, Hadley most of all.
You’d never know a couple of years ago, she knew nothing about baseball.
Apparently, love turned her into the biggest fan of us all.
“You should come,” Ollie whispered as Hadley flipped off the ref for calling Cam out. “No matter what’s going on with Damien, it’d be nice to show him you care.” She plucked at my jersey. “Clearly, he does. It might be the push he needs, going into post-season.”
“Does it come off desperate?” I asked. “He didn’t invite me to go with him.”
Ollie frowned, looking at the screen. “Have you given him a reason to ask?”
“What do you mean?”
“Every time you talk about what’s happening with you guys, it seems like he’s the one pursuing you.
And you have your valid reasons, but it seems like you’re still holding back a little.
Maybe the reason he hasn’t asked is because he didn’t think you’d want to come.
” She took my hand and squeezed it. “Besides, it’s almost the end of the summer, Bri.
If you’re going to do this for him, now is the time. ”
I pushed out a long breath, hating how her words struck true.
Everything about our relationship had been a dance, Damien leading me forward while I kept throwing up reasons to push him away.
And honestly, I was so tired of being afraid.
Damien had given no reason not to trust him; in fact, he’d gone above and beyond to make sure I felt safe with him.
As Damien’s name was called out on the screen, my eyes lifted, unable to look away from the man who’d turned my world upside down.
For the longest time, I swore I wouldn’t let anyone else in, keep my heart protected behind its walls.
But with each moment I spent with Damien, he dismantled them—not with a sledgehammer but with gentle and methodical care.
Somewhere along the line, our relationship had shifted, and now, I wanted everything with him.
He swung the bat over his shoulder, glaring at the pitcher with his usual intensity.
When he connected with the ball and sent it careening into the outfield, I couldn’t hold back my wide grin.
I would’ve given anything to be there with him right now, to be screaming in the crowd as he raced along the bases.
After he slid into home plate, Damien stood, brushing the dust off his white baseball pants.
When the camera panned to him, he winked, and my insides lit up, as if it was a message just for me.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m in.”