Chapter 20
Cienna
The second day of school was always the hardest. For the older kids, the excitement of being back with old friends had worn off, and the drama had already started.
For the little ones, like my kinders, the novelty of big-kid school had dampened, and it started setting in for them that this was their life now. Shit just got real, kiddos.
Today they missed their mommies and daddies. Today they didn’t want to share. Today half of them didn’t have lunches because the second day was hard on parents too.
I cleared out the Lunchables in my mini-fridge, passing them out to several children, including Abigail.
She was quiet all morning and looked as exhausted as I felt, but overall, she coped better than most of her classmates.
I was thankful I didn’t see her dropped off this morning.
I wasn’t ready for my own shit just got real moment.
Once Michelle took the kids to the cafeteria for lunchtime, I plonked myself into my seat and let my head fall back with a groan.
“Day going that well, huh?” Karen’s sarcasm floated across the room to me. I pulled myself back and flopped my head to the side as she strolled toward me. She propped her hip against my desk and sighed. “I came to check in on Ms. Marsh. How is she doing?”
Shifting my body forward in my chair, I sat my elbows on the desk. “Besides being one of many who didn’t bring a lunch today, she did pretty well.”
Karen nodded. “I’m glad to hear it. And how are you doing?”
“How am I doing?” I gave her a puzzled look.
“With your new class, and the potential promotion, you know…” She paused and tilted her head down, giving me a knowing look. “And Mr. Marsh.”
Fire blazed across my cheeks. “Umm.” My knee started bouncing under my desk. “Well, things are going well, I think.” Words were tumbling, hands were fidgeting, and breathing was iffy.
“I noticed a certain vibe between you and Mr. Marsh.” She busted out the air quotes and winked when she said the word vibe.
How do I answer that? Vibe? I suppose we do, indeed, have one of those.
“Oh, Reed—er, Mr. Marsh. That was a misunderstanding. I hadn’t read the file until mid-meeting, and…”
Karen put her hand up, silencing me. “Cienna.”
I blinked a few times, then finally made eye contact. “I know it sounds like a horrible excuse, and I promise our communica—”
“Cici,” she interrupted, her tone hardening as she narrowed her eyes, making me gulp. But then her brow lifted and her mouth turned into a smirk. “I know about the cruise.”
Huh? Oh. “Oh!”
“Sounds like you had a heck of a time.”
“You could say that… Um, how did you hear?” I dragged my hand down my face.
“You forget who my administrative assistant is?” Karen’s snicker made me groan.
Jenn! Dead. To. Me. And to think, just a month ago, I saved her ass by telling her she had something in her teeth right before she walked down the aisle. Where was the loyalty, man?
“Cici, I’m glad you had a good time and let loose a bit.” Her lips ticked up on one side. “You’re the hardest worker I know. I would never discourage that.” Her voice trailed off. “Especially with a specimen like Mr. Marsh. Oh, to be young and single.”
My face warmed at the reminder of just how sexy he was. His mischievous smile. His fiery red curls and how they felt between my fingers. Something I’d been trying to block out. Not doing a great job at that.
“I just wanted to remind you that the board of trustees will be taking note of you, and due to past indiscretions, it’s frowned upon to—” She paused, screwing up her lips for a moment before continuing, “Fraternize with parents.”
Her reminder flickered the prior scandal through my mind.
Back in my first year of teaching, the PTA president and eighth grade PE teacher began dating.
Suddenly, funding was being poured into the athletic department, to the detriment of other programs, including teacher performance bonuses and scholarships for the following year.
They were eventually caught, her having finagled the budgeting process after being trusted with it for so many years.
He had allocated his new funding for several personal items, disguising the invoices as instructional purchases.
They were both let go, and her son lost his enrollment in the school.
Aisling received a blitz of negative publicity, and while that was short-lived, it stuck in the mind of the board of trustees who, understandably, took pride in a school of accolades, not impropriety.
Blood rushed to my head in a loud whoosh. I was happy to be a shining star in every capacity, but being under a microscope kicked up my anxiety ten thousand notches. Then it dawned on me why Karen was even bringing this up.
With a quick sip from my water bottle to regain my composure, I found my words. “I can assure you nothing is going on with Reed.” Oops. “Mr. Marsh,” I quickly corrected.
Karen lifted a brow. “Are you sure about that?”
I nodded. “I’m a professional, Karen, and you can expect nothing less. Besides, he is the poster boy of unavailable. New parent. Mourning brother. I can’t even imagine how he’s balancing it all. And he might be dating. There was this woman—”
I cut myself off and stood from my chair. I wanted to assure her that it wouldn’t be a problem. Did I wish it was something I had to consider a problem? Possibly. Did I wish I could chase away the defeat I saw in his eyes with my lips, my touch, my—
“And he doesn’t even drop off or pick up often,” I added, taking one last stab at putting her at ease. “So I doubt we will see much of each oth—”
The classroom door swung open, interrupting me.
“Excuse me.” Goose bumps covered my skin as Reed’s deep voice carried across the room, and my body reacted unwittingly—a tightness in my tummy, a little tingle further down. Fuck, I’m screwed.
He stared for a minute, and all the butterflies I just swore to Karen I could chase off came spinning and flapping full force. “Sorry to interrupt.”
He held up a My Little Pony lunchbox, tearing his gaze from mine to Karen.
“I forgot Abi’s lunch. Second day, and I’m already failing.
” Despite the ease he tried to muster, he appeared abashed.
Sorrow enveloped my body, overriding any lustful sensations I was torturing myself with.
I no longer wanted to pull him against me and have him whisper every sexy word ever written into my ear. I wanted to simply hug him.
“You’re not too late. Lunch just started.” I quickly navigated through tables and chairs to grab the lunchbox from him. “I’ll take that to her.”
When he handed it to me, our eyes met and stuck.
As if transferred through our connection point—a lunchbox featuring a purple pony with an ass tattoo and a rainbow mane—a zip of grief mixed with desire shot through me.
His gaze dipped to my mouth, then right back to my eyes as he rasped, “Thanks, Cici—err, Ms. Vilotta.”
“Not a problem, Mr. Marsh. Have a great day.”
With that, he was gone. Turning back to Karen, I was met with crossed arms and a smug face. She lifted from my desk and headed out of the classroom, tossing a wave over her shoulder. “Good luck with that.”