Chapter 11 #3
I was hoping it wouldn’t give him the idea that he can come talk to me after, but as I watch Clover hop off her stool and head this way, I think I’m out of luck.
“B! B! B!”
No chance of ignoring them now. I set my things down and reluctantly give them my attention.
“I just had the best idea ever,” she says, glancing between Kass and me. “I think B should keep giving me painting lessons.”
I try to keep my eyes at a normal size, not letting them get big like they want to. I’m not sure what I was expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that.
Kass puts his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and sighs like he’s done this before. “You just had this idea, or you’ve been plotting this whole time and are just bringing it up now?”
“Probably the second one.”
We both smile at her half-hearted confession. Kass and I make eye contact, silently trying to communicate to come up with an answer for her. For a split second, I wonder if this is what parents do all the time when they don’t want to say what they’re really thinking out loud in front of their kids.
Kass shrugs, so I guess it’s going to be me who bears the bad news today. “Sorry, Clover, I don’t really do lessons. I was just covering for my friend, Liam, remember? But he’ll be starting another session in a couple of weeks that you could sign up for. I know he’s super excited to see you again.”
The way her smile melts off her face causes a slight twinge in my chest. These damn chest muscles are getting a workout today. But I cannot, under any circumstances, put myself in a situation where I’m going to be seeing Kass on a regular basis. My self-control isn’t that good.
“Okay…”
“Sorry, kiddo.” I tug on her braid, drawing out a small smile from under her frown—a frown that’s too animated to be natural.
Her eyes light up like she just had the most brilliant idea she’s ever come up with. “But just in case you change your mind, you should give my dad your number.”
I press my lips together to conceal my smile, because clearly she doesn’t know he already has my number. “Funny enough, your dad actually—“
Kass cuts me off before I can finish that sentence and reveal our secret. “Why don’t you take her number, Clover?”
“Oh yeah!” She whips her phone out of her pocket so fast that I’m afraid her small hands are going to drop it again. “I just got this phone for Christmas. You’ll be the fifth number I have!”
“Well, five is my lucky number.” I take the phone from her, looking at Kass to confirm it’s okay, even though it was his dumb idea to begin with. He nods, and I start punching in my number.
I hand it back to her when I’m done, and she starts to giggle when she reads what I put my name as.
“The coolest art teacher you’ll ever have? That’s a pretty confident statement.”
I wink at her, knowing she’s going to get a kick out of what I'm about to say next. “Well, you know, a wise person once told me that a woman’s greatest weapon is her unwavering confidence."
Clover smiles so big that I'm afraid her cheeks are going to explode, as I expected. But what I don’t expect is Kass's reaction.
"What did you say?" His eyebrows are knitted together as he stares at me.
I hadn't thought about how that statement might affect him; I was only thinking about Clover. I have no clue what his relationship with Clover's mom is like. Are they on good terms? I'm assuming they're not together, but with men, you never know.
"Nothing." I try to brush it off, not wanting to be the victim of his stare any longer. "Well, I have to lock up, so we’d better get out of here. Clover, do you need help carrying anything?"
"Do you see my dad?" She pats Kass's rock-hard abs that I'm very familiar with. "He doesn't need any help. He's super strong."
"Alright then."
Kass picks up her canvases, juggling all three and trying not to crush them. Clover lunges at me and wraps her little arms as far around my waist as she can get them. "I'm going to miss you, B."
I pull her arms off me so I can squat down to her level and give her a proper hug. "I'm going to miss you too." I'm surprised by how genuine those words sound coming out of my mouth. I actually think I might miss this little bugger.
With one final squeeze, I let her go and stand. As they walk out, I can't help but stare. Before they disappear behind the door, Clover turns to give me one last overly enthusiastic wave. And I wave back.
I finish saying my goodbyes to everyone else, help a few of the older folks get their paintings out to their cars, and lock up for the last time.
If Liam asked me to sub for him again, I'd definitely consider it. Though it made my already busy schedule pretty chaotic, I enjoyed my time.
My phone buzzes as I walk out to my car. It's been buzzing nonstop for the last ten minutes, likely all from the girls wondering where I am.
I'm right, they're all from the girls, asking where I am and if I’m dead in a ditch somewhere.
Except for one.
Kass
Since you're not traveling for work right now, does that mean that if I show up at your apartment, you’ll be there?