Jackson
HUGGING HER HAD PROBABLY BEEN a bad idea, but, damn, it sure felt good.
It started out innocently enough. I really had stepped into Three Sisters Catering with the intention of begging, pleading, and bartering for a party for Kayla. Then she’d stepped out from the back . . . the sexiest brunette in a chef’s coat I’d ever seen.
And the way her curves had fit snuggly against me, her head resting perfectly just below my chin . . . Well, let’s just say my body hadn’t reacted to a woman in that way since well before my wife left me.
I’d ended up stuttering and stumbling my way out of there. I think I winked for God’s sake.
What a tool.
The important thing was that she’d said yes, they’d consider catering K’s party. I’d been trying so hard to give Kayla everything she needed since Julie had walked out of our lives. I couldn’t always give her what she wanted monetarily, but she knew she was the most important thing in my life, and I really wanted to make this birthday special. It was the first one since her mother disappeared, and I needed to prove that we could do this without her, that I could do this without her.
With the help of a catering company, that is.
“Running behind, Jackson?” Principal Wiggins called as I rushed through the entry door of the high school where I worked.
“Yeah, sorry,” I called with a wave as I headed toward my classroom, pulling open the door just as the final bell rung.
“Busted,” one of the students called out as I walked to my desk with a sheepish smile.
“Tardy, Mr. H,” another student said.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said with a chuckle. “Calm down.”
Since my class was an Advanced English class, most of the students I had were there because they wanted to be, not just to fill a mandatory block on their schedule. We’d been in school for a couple months now, so I knew most of my students pretty well, and they knew what kind of teacher I was. I’d never been late before, so they had to give me shit, even though I was usually understanding when one of them were tardy.
“Car break down?”
“Alarm didn’t go off?”
“Dog ate your homework?”
I let them get it all out while I placed my things on my desk and got out my lesson plan. Once I walked to the center of the room, they knew I was ready for business, and the good-natured taunts died down.
“Hamlet,” I began, adjusting my glasses slightly as I surveyed the faces in the room. “Act three, scene one. Let’s discuss.”
It was one of those days where I was already exhausted by lunch. I was distracted, thoughts of Kayla’s birthday and the morning’s discussion of Hamlet buzzing around in my brain, so I didn’t realize that I was about to run into one of the other teachers until I was right up on her.
“Oh,” Rebecca Webber cried, as I reached a hand out to steady her.
“Sorry,” I said as I took a step back.
I caught the slight blush on the history teacher’s cheeks as she replied, “That’s okay.”
I nodded, then walked around her into the lounge. I headed to the table, where I sat with the other two male teachers in my school. Rob, who taught Algebra One, and Tyson, who taught Health and Physical Education.
They were already there, catching up on their weekend, when I sat down and started pulling out the items from my homemade lunch, which was identical to the one I’d made for my daughter that morning.
“‘Sup, Jackson?” Rob asked as he downed the soda that he’d sworn to his wife he’d give up.
“I was late today,” I admitted as I opened the baggie that held my peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. “You should have seen the look on Wiggins’ face. It’s not like I make a habit out of it or anything.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Ty said with a wave of his hand. “Sounds like he’s pissed off about shit at home, at least that’s the word on the streets. It’s not personal; he knows you’re one of the best around.”
“Why was Mr. Perfect late anyway?” Rob asked with a grin, so I knew he was just messing with me.
“I stopped off at that catering business on Main, the one across from Prime Beef.”
“That place is hot,” Ty said. “I always book a table if I have a lady I want to impress. I’m talking about Prime Beef, not the catering place. I’ve never been there.”
“I have, they have those delicious breakfast pastries,” Rob answered.
“Anyway, Kayla wants to have a tea party for her birthday, and since I haven’t the first idea how to make that happen, I thought I’d give them a try.”
“A tea party? What the hell do you do at one of those?” Rob asked.
“I don’t know, eat tiny sandwiches and drink tea, I guess,” I replied, then looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to our conversation before lowering my voice and adding, “The woman who works there is the hottest woman I’ve ever seen.”
That sparked their interest, so they both leaned in closer.
“What does she look like?” Ty asked.
“‘Bout five-four, five-five, with perfect curves, full lips, and the eyes of an angel.”
“Hair?” Rob asked, causing Ty and me to give him matching looks. “What, you know I’m a hair man.”
I shrugged. “It’s dark and long, but hard to really tell because it was up in a bun. Which gave me unadorned access to her perfect face . . . She was nice, sweet even, and when I hugged her . . .”
“Hugged her?” Rob asked.
“Damn, Jackson, you work fast,” Ty added with a chuckle.
“It was an impulse; I didn’t mean to attack her or anything. She said she’d see what they could do to help me with the party, and I automatically hugged her.”
“And it was?”
“Perfect,” I admitted. “She smelled sweet, felt even better, and tucked right in and hugged me back.”
“Wow,” Ty said, and I knew he and Rob were thinking the same thing I was. This was the first time I’d had even an ounce of attraction for a woman since Julie left.
“Are you going to ask her out?” Rob asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. It was complicated, what with me being a single dad who was technically still married. But, I’d left that store feeling something I hadn’t felt in a really long time: excited.
I looked my friends in the eye as I opened my tapioca pudding and said, “You know what? I think I will.”