Chapter 6 #2
His finger pushes my chin, turning me to look twenty feet away to a woman with blonde hair and light eyes that match Ashtyn’s. She’s laughing at something Mayor Monroe said and even grabs his arm the same way her daughter tried to grab Wade's.
“That’s her mom, Lisa Ellis. Like mother, like daughter. She’s one of the biggest flirts in town. I’m afraid if I call her up and tell her that her daughter is acting inappropriately with me and making me uncomfortable, she’d probably congratulate Ashtyn and encourage her to do more.”
“She would not.”
“She would!”
My glare whips back to him. “Don’t be an idiot. Get this under control…like now.”
There’s clear panic behind his eyes, which I appreciate. And in his defense, I could see how he tried to maintain professionalism with her, despite her forwardness. I honestly feel bad for the poor guy.
“I’m trying to get this under control, but there are so many things at play here that complicate things.”
“Like what?”
“Nobody wanted me to get the job as principal. Everyone said I was too young. There was an emergency town meeting, petitions, picketing.”
“Picketing?” My brows lift, calling out his exaggeration.
“Yes, picketing! So what do you think will happen if, a few weeks into my new role as principal, word gets out that I’m having a problem with students hitting on me?”
“Students?”
His mouth twists into a grimace. “There might be more than one girl, but Ashtyn is by far the most aggressive.”
“Wade!”
“I know, but if this gets out, everyone who didn’t want me to get hired will say they were right, and I’ll probably lose my job.”
“That’s better than prison time and being put on the sex offender list.”
“I know. I know.” He scrubs his hands down his face. “I just thought, if I kept acting uninterested in her and reminded her that she’s a high school student, maybe she’d lose interest and leave me alone. It seems to be working with the other girls.”
I look over my shoulder at Ashtyn, cheering on the sidelines. She swings her hips in a provocative way as they chant a cheer. “You’re in deep trouble with a girl like that. She’s not going away.”
“You think?” He doubles over like he’s hyperventilating.
“Calm down. It’ll all be alright.” I pat his back, smiling as I look around in case anybody is watching us.
Linda Tolman and Pam Vasser stand twenty feet away, eyeing the situation.
“He’s fine.” My smile goes bigger as I lift Wade’s arm, cranking it up and down as if he’s a hand pump about to pour water out. “Choked on his spit.”
For dramatics, Wade lifts his head a little and coughs. There’s no way the two women can hear us, but I think we put on a nice show for them anyway.
He peeks up at me from his hunched position. “What am I going to do?”
“We’ll think of something.”
I’m not sure where the we’ll came from. Since when are Wade and I a team?
“I’m not sleeping at night. I’m losing weight.”
“You’re not losing weight,” I call his bluff. “Was this flirting happening last year too?”
Slowly, he comes back upright. “No, when my dad was at the school, I never had any problems like this.”
“Then ask your dad what you should do.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I told you. There are a lot of complicated things at play here that you don’t understand. My relationship with my dad is one of them. I absolutely cannot tell my dad what’s happening with Ashtyn. I actually haven’t told anyone besides you.”
This makes me pause. Why did he choose to tell me? My mind wants to linger on that, but I quickly decide it was less about me and more about the fact that I witnessed it. So I move on.
“You’re right. Your dad is kinda scary.” I suck in a deep breath, thinking through Wade’s options. “I still think you should just talk to Ashtyn and be frank that the way she’s behaving is completely out of line and won’t be tolerated.”
“What if she gets mad and goes over my head to the school district and lies and says that I sexually harassed her or something?”
“Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to be a man these days. People hate single men like me. It’s a whole movement.”
He has a point there.
“Then just get a girlfriend and parade her in front of Ashtyn. If she thinks you’re in love with someone else, her courage will fade, and she’ll back off. No girl is that confident, especially one who’s only eighteen.”
“A girlfriend?” He nods a few times as he thinks it over. “That could work.”
The color returns to his face, probably because I gave him a solution he can handle. Wade Stevenson has never had a problem getting a woman to like him. He’ll have a girlfriend by Monday morning. Problem solved. But something about that solution brings a subtle tenseness to my heart.
The crowd goes wild, and we both glance at the field. A group of football players celebrates in the end zone.
“Thank you for your help.” Sincerity spills out of his eyes. “And for not judging me.”
“Oh, I’m definitely judging you.” Despite my best efforts at being stern, a smile slips. I gesture to the stands. “Landrie and Jaxon have a seat saved for me up by my parents. Do you want to watch the game with us?”
“I wish I could, but I told Nathan I’d come back and watch the game with him.” He nods toward the student in the wheelchair. “Besides, I need to stay down here and keep an eye on things.”
“Okay.” I pause before leaving. “Just do me a favor and stay away from Ashtyn Ellis after the game.”
“Trust me. I’m trying to.”
Laughter puffs out, because for the first time in my life, I actually believe that Wade is trying hard not to be desirable…at least to her.