13
Beckett
S elah doesn't see us at first as she walks over to the front counter where one of the waiters is standing by the register. My attention on him sharpens as he smiles at her a little too enthusiastically, giving her a much more friendly greeting than we received when we came in.
"Come on, Edison," I say, dropping the cash on the table and taking my coffee cup.
"That's Ms. Selah!" Edison chimes loudly as we walk over, drawing Selah's attention to us.
Her face lights up as she turns around, "Edi! What are you doing here?" she asks, going over to give him a hug.
"Uncle Beckett is taking me to the park! But we had some food first," Edison explains excitedly, bouncing up and down, the sugar from his lunch obviously starting to do its job.
"How fun!" Selah exclaims, clapping her hands together.
I smile seeing the way Edison lights up around her, always so excited to talk to her.
"Hi Selah. How are you?" I ask, looking over the dress she's wearing. It's another nice pink one, and she's paired it with some wedge sandals that show off her beautiful brown legs.
"Hi Beckett. I'm good. I just needed some caffeine," she says, nodding over to the counter. I go to ask her what she likes to get, but I'm interrupted by the flirty waiter.
"Here youuu go, Selah! Skinny vanilla latte with a double shot of espresso," he says, winking at her as he hands her the cup. "It's on the house."
I frown at him, stepping closer to Selah as she takes her drink from him. "Thanks so much, Joey! I'll see you later. Hope you make lots of tips today," she says, giving him a sweet smile that I want to snatch out of his line of vision.
"Thanks, beautiful. I'll see you tomorrow at Oakland and Piper's house," Joey says, coming around the counter and heading back to his tables.
The fuck you will, Joey . I think glaring after him.
"Ok!" Selah chirps, giving him a small wave.
She looks back over at me, finally. "Have you had lunch?" I ask, and she nods.
"I did at home, yes," she says, walking beside me to the door.
We all walk outside together, and step out on the sidewalk. Edison goes over to the wall next to the diner where someone has painted a nice mural of kids playing, looking it over.
"Who was he?" I ask Selah, stepping into her space.
She tilts her head up to look at me, "Who? Oh! Joey? He's a friend of mine," she says innocently.
I study her face and realize that she has zero clue that Joey's intentions aren't as pure as she is.
"He wants to fu..date you, Selah," I inform her, watching my words.
She pouts her full lips at me, and my dick twitches in response. "Wh-n-no he doesn't! I mean, he did ask me out once after we first met, but I declined and he respected it. We've been just friends since," she quickly explains.
"He won't be doing that again," I inform her.
She raises her eyebrows, "Excuse me? Why?"
I look over to Edison as he runs over and takes my hand, giving us a curious look. I decide to pocket my sudden possessiveness.
For now.
I look back at Selah who is still staring at me, surprised by my statement. I decide to move on, "Come to the park with us."
She smiles, her shoulders relaxing, "Oh, ok! Are you going to Felix Park? That seems to be a popular one with kids around here," she says, pointing down the road. "It's just a short walk from here."
Edison tugs on my arm eagerly, "Can we go to that one? Please Uncle Beckett?"
I nod, "Of course we can. Let's go," I agree.
I finish off my espresso and toss it in the trash outside of the diner, and we all head down the sidewalk. Edison talks to Selah about his ice cream sundae as we make our way past Reece's Grocery and keep going. I finally see the park across the street and stop at a crosswalk.
I reach over and take Selah's hand along with Edison's. Selah looks down at our hands and a soft smile grows on her face. I take my time to look both ways before I pull them along with me quickly across the road.
As soon as his foot touches the other sidewalk, Edison lets go of my hand and runs ahead of us to the playground.
"Be careful!" Selah calls out after him, biting into her bottom lip as he takes off.
The two of us walk over to a bench close to the playground and sit together. She looks down and realizes that I'm still holding her hand securely in mine, but I don't move it, acting like it's natural.
Her hand is where it should be.
I look around the park and feel myself relax for the first time all day. The air is warm and filled with the sound of children yelling, and laughing as they enjoy a late Spring afternoon. I spot Edison playing with two other boys that look his age, climbing on a rope structure together.
"Oh that's Franklin and Gunner!" Selah chirps, waving over to them. "They are both in my class too."
I nod watching Edison run off with them to a play structure with slides. I glance around and notice a few moms are looking in our direction, talking to each other. Selah sees them too, and she slowly slips her hand out of mine, pushing the bottom of her dress down until it covers her knees again.
I frown seeing her reaction, not happy with how uncomfortable she suddenly seems.
"Do you get along with most of your students' parents?" I ask.
She shrugs, playing with the lid on her coffee cup, "Most of the parents are great, but some of them can be..I don't know. A little judgmental I guess. Just the moms," she admits.
I narrow my eyes, looking back over at the women on the other side of the playground. I'm not surprised that the fathers have no issue with Selah, considering how freaking gorgeous she is. So I can guess why some of the moms might be a bit catty towards her, even though it's ridiculous to judge someone that way.
I reach over and tilt her chin up until she meets my eyes, "You don't have to put up with anyone making you feel like less than who you are, sweetheart. You know that right?" I advise.
She gazes into my eyes for a moment and I wish I could snatch the uncertainty in them, "Sometimes it's just easier to ignore snide whispers about what I wear, or whatever issue they have with me, than it is to make things awkward," she replies. "I have to deal with the same people for an entire school year, so it's best to let some things just roll off of my back you know?"
I shake my head, "No I sure fucking don't."
Her eyes widen and a burst of laughter comes out of her, "Wow, ok."
I clench my jaw, trying to stop myself from walking across the playground to the Cougar Mean Girls that are making her feel this way. "I don't believe in pocketing your feelings to make other people more comfortable. And you shouldn't either, angel," I say, looking at her intently.
She nods slowly, taking in what I'm saying, "You're right, it's something I need to work on," she admits. "Thankfully the school year is almost over though."
She moves her attention back to the playground, "It's beautiful here isn't it?" She asks, trying to change the subject.
I move my arm and splay it along the bench behind her, "I have to admit, it is a lot nicer here than I expected," I respond, leaning over to take in the sweet coconut smell in her hair. We sit in silence for a few minutes watching Edison play tag with his friends.
"Have you been thinking of what you will do next?" she asks.
I tense at her question, coming back to reality. I knew that I would have to talk about this with her sooner rather than later.
And it looks like now is the time for me to lay all of my cards on the table.