I stopped the car in the school parking lot and let Sophia and myself out. I held her hand as we crossed the road, and, as usual, Jessica was there waiting. As soon as we were on the other side of the street, Sophia ran to Jessica and hugged her and they chatted a bit. Then Sophia ran inside.

But then Jessica turned to me with a look that was colder than usual.

I knew, instinctively, that something had happened. What or when, I had no idea, but it had something to do with me, and I wondered how I’d managed to annoy her this time.

“Jessica, what is it?” I asked, my voice low with worry.

Anger suddenly crossed her face, and it was strong enough to make me take a step back, but just mostly because it was anger aimed at me. It was a look that brought back memories nearly a decade old and confused me at the same time. Why couldn't she fucking forget it? It was a long time ago, and she was still acting as if it was the other day.

“Okay, seriously, what’s wrong?” I grew impatient and just wanted to get straight to the point.

She opened her mouth to speak, only to pause and look around. There were still children arriving and running around. She snapped her mouth shut and shot me another glare. I was tempted to back off, maybe let her cool off a bit. Her being angry at me reminded me of how I’d felt back then after what I did to her. I’d hurt her emotionally and ended up hurting myself in the process. I was dumb enough to back off then, and, in the end, we never got to talk before she left town.

I had been hoping things would get better between us, that we could be friends, at least, and hopefully more someday. So, whatever she was mad at me for now, we needed to resolve it before I left, or she’d stop talking to me again.

“Okay, look,” she finally said, and it was obvious she was having a hard time keeping her voice down and civil. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Ross. I would say I don’t care, but that is a self-evident lie. I will tell you right now to back the fuck off, though, if you think I’m going to let you play me again.”

I could feel my face morph into shock. I already knew she was mad and it made something in my chest shrivel up. But I forced myself to stand my ground. I reminded myself that I wasn’t an insecure teenager anymore, I was a man, and I was going to prove it to both of us.

“You’re going to have to explain something to me, Jessica,” I said after calming myself down a little, and I took a couple of steps closer. She stiffened and glanced around, but didn’t move away from me. I breathed a silent sigh of relief at that. “I don’t know why you’re suddenly so mad, or exactly what I did this time to get you to blow up at me, so explain it to me.”

“There's nothing to fucking explain,” she hissed with a glare.

“Uh, yeah, there is,” I protested, my voice lowering to match hers. “Even if nothing ever happens between us, there’s still my daughter, who happens to be in your class. You and I are going to have to get along, if for no other reason.”

I saw her grimace as she realized I was right, and I wondered what made her so mad that she’d allowed herself to forget in the first place.

She opened her mouth to say something, but someone else calling her name interrupted. It was another parent in her class, bringing her son. She was still across the road but coming quickly, and I turned to Jessica before she could let herself get distracted.

“I’m not going to leave until you tell me what the hell is going on, Jessica,” I said slowly while trying to tread delicately. There was one part of me that was so fucking mad; as soon as I think that she's put the past behind her, she proves to me once again that she hasn’t, at all.

Her face twisted as she tried not to glare at me again, now that she knew we had an audience.

“We can't talk about this here...” she hissed out, but I cut her off.

“There’s no other choice, where else would we meet, besides here? I don’t plan on making a scene, but I won’t leave until you talk to me.”

We stared at each other in stony silence, until her name was called again, only now nearer than before. So I turned away and headed back to my car. I could practically feel her gaze burning into my back, and it was all I could do to ignore it. I made it to my car, but, instead of getting inside and driving away, I leaned back against it. Jessica was still looking my way, and though she was too far for our gazes to meet, I hoped she at least realized I meant to keep my word.

I stayed there and watched as she greeted and talked to all the other parents and their kids as they came in. I felt a little disappointed that I didn’t get special treatment, but then, she wouldn’t be such a good teacher if she was preferential to Sophia and me over her other students.

After what felt like forever to me, but was probably less than ten minutes, the bell rang.

I waited, anxious, as last-minute parents and guardians waved goodbye to their kids, and the teachers led the few remaining students inside. When Jessica turned away and walked inside, I sighed and turned around to brace my arm against the car. If she was going to walk away, I didn’t want to see. Because I knew if she did, then it would take quite a while before things could go back to being smooth between the two of us, and it was just so fucking frustrating.

“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath, though it sounded more tired than anything.

“Ross?”

My eyes widened as I whirled around, surprised to see her coming back and crossing the road to stand in front of me. I glanced around and wondered just how long I’d been standing there feeling sorry for myself, because the street was pretty much empty again. Then my eyes strayed back to Jessica, and she seemed to read the look on my face.

“Don’t worry; I’m not running away from this.” She folded her arms over her chest as she scowled up at me, but it lacked the fierceness from before. “I know that’s where I made a mistake, back in school.”

I blinked at her a couple of times, then felt an unsure smile curve my lips. “Uh, I kinda wasn’t expecting… don’t you have class now?”

She arched an eyebrow. “You know I do, but you still waited for me, didn’t you?”

I scratched the back of my head, feeling a little sheepish. But then I dropped my arm and sighed, my expression becoming serious.

“I was just hoping you’d come and talk to me before the bell rang.”

Her head was shaking before I finished speaking. “I’m not about to break my routine, not even for you, Ross. The only reason I came back out here and didn’t just leave you to rot is that I managed to get someone else to cover for me for a while. But not for very long.”

“Oh.” I frowned. “I’m sorry, I guess I should have thought things through. I swear I didn’t mean to inconvenience you.”

She sighed, though the scowl remained. “No, you had a reason for reacting as you did, and I have to thank you. I’d just heard something that left me irritated, and letting it out on you without giving you a chance to at least defend yourself was hardly fair. You did something unforgivable to me before, but neither of us is a teenager anymore, and I’m more than willing to be mature about this. Just give me a fucking reason to trust you right now, Ross.”

My expression cleared, only for me to frown again as she spoke, because I still wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Did I do something to annoy you at some point between yesterday and this morning?” I asked, beginning to feel frustrated. “If I did, tell me what it was and I’ll apologize for it.”

Instead of answering immediately, though, she pursed her lips as she regarded me. The scrutiny made me feel a little self-conscious, like she was trying to see through me. After a moment, when I could no longer take the charged silence, I opened my mouth to speak, ask again what the problem was and hope she would answer this time, when she beat me to it.

“How’s my car coming along? And how much am I paying for all the work you’re doing?”

I only frowned harder. Why was she asking me about the damn car now?

“The car’s fine,” I said dismissively. “And the pay is the same it always has been, unless you want a discount...” I cut off when she growled at me, feeling my eyes widen in surprise again. “Okay, Jessica, seriously now, what?”

Why was she back to looking angry, like I’d run over her cat or something?

“That right there is my problem, Ross,” she said, continuing when I only gave her a confused look. “My car. You’ve spent all this time on it, are making all sorts of changes to it. You’re spending time, effort, and I’m sure money to acquire some parts or using parts you already have that you might need later. I know you’d cost differently from a mechanic in the city, but, even so, the price is too fucking low.”

Now, I was even more confused. “Are you seriously mad at me for fixing your car cheap? I mean, if you want, I could up the price, but I…”

My voice trailed off because she was blushing. She looked a little embarrassed, actually, and it was enough to let me calm down a little.

“All right,” she admitted slowly. “When you say it like that, I sound fucking ungrateful, when I don’t have all that much money to begin with, after the move.” But then she was scowling again. “Still! Why are you spending so much on it and charging me so little? You have a business to run, don’t you?”

I shook my head slowly. “Jessica, the business is mine to do with as I please. And, I will admit, your car has been a bitch to deal with. But it’s not like that’s my only problem. I close early for the sake of spending time with my daughter, and I know I could easily be working into the night. But, see, that’s my decision to make. It’s something I chose to do, for the sake of myself and my family, and it’s not a decision I chose lightly.”

She chewed her lower lip. “So, the deal with my car…”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, able to relax now that I knew the problem wasn’t something so major that it couldn’t be fixed.

“I’m pricing it how I want to, Jessica. Besides, when you think about it, I owe you. And it’s not like I’m struggling for money or anything. I get enough to support Sophia and me, and lend some to my mom when she needs it.”

“You don’t need to keep thinking that you owe me...”

“But I do,” I interrupted. “What I did to you back then was bad. I want to make up for it any way possible, and this is the one way I know how.”

I stopped and looked at her anxiously. There was more I wanted to say, but I hesitated, because I wasn’t sure how she would take it. I was very conscious of the time, knowing she would have to leave and get back to work.

I asked myself, when would I get a good chance like this again?

The tension between us had been reduced for now. She was still scowling, but I wasn’t sure it was intentional on her part because, despite her expression, she no longer seemed mad. So I shored up my courage and opened my mouth.

“Jessica… I don’t know if this is the time to say this… But it might be a while before we get this kind of privacy. I like you, Jessica, like, really. And, more than hoping you’ll forgive me for our bad history, I would like it if you considered giving me another chance.”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise before she was scowling again. Still, she sounded unsure as she said, “You’re a good guy, a good dad. And even if what happened before—”

“Don’t say that.” I shook my head with a huff. “If it weren’t for what happened back then, you wouldn’t be hesitating now.” She didn’t deny it, pursing her lips, and I chuckled sadly. “I would like to take you out, Jessica. And I mean on a date, with my daughter spending some quality time with her grandmother.”

She chewed on her lip again, her uncertainty even clearer now as she stared up at me. I held my breath as I waited for her judgment, feeling my chest ache when she shook her head.

“Ross, I don’t think it would be a good idea right now.”

I was ready to take it and leave, to agree and go along so that I wouldn’t annoy her. But the second I thought that, I forced my back straight. If I kept doing that, then we would get nowhere. Eventually, my daughter would be moving up a grade, and I could no longer use dropping her off and picking her up as an excuse to get to talk to Jessica.

“You haven’t said no,” I pointed out. “And I don’t want to take a no from you. I won’t make you go on a date with me. Hell, I’d be okay with my daughter being there. I do want another chance with you, Jessica, I’m willing to beg for it, or wait for as long as you’d be comfortable.”

I waited, again with bated breath, for her opinion. She regarded me for a while, and, this time, I didn’t move to interrupt her thinking once. Then, she sighed.

“I like you, Ross,” she said suddenly, surprising me. “I’m attracted to you. But even though I’m trying here, I’m not sure I would be mature enough just to pretend that you didn’t break my heart, no matter how long ago it was.”

“I don’t expect you to,” I said quickly. “I’m not expecting you to jump into my arms.” No matter how amazing that would be. Though I knew better than to say that aloud. “We can take things at your pace, whatever to make you comfortable. Just, please, Jessica. I’m asking for a second chance here.”

She hesitated for a little more, pursing her lips again. Then she sighed. I was practically vibrating from the tension when she finally nodded slowly. It took me a moment to realize she’d agreed. I couldn’t help the grin that suddenly took over my face, though it was gone almost as soon as it was there.

Because I also noticed Jessica’s expression, and, while she was no longer angry, she didn’t exactly look happy, either. My hand twitched at my side, wanting to reach for hers. I took a step closer, but hesitated, because I didn’t miss the guarded look in her eyes.

“I am sorry for what happened back then,” I whispered in the space between us. “I swear I never meant to hurt you as bad as I obviously did.”

Her eyes were growing misty with tears, and I moved without thinking. We were out on the street; my car was barely sufficient for cover. Her school was right there across the lot, and if any students were looking out of their windows, some of them might be able to catch sight of us.

But I wasn’t thinking of any of that when I caught Jessica’s face between my hands and leaned my face closer to hers. I hesitated slightly, wondering if this would only ruin things between us if it wasn't what she wanted.

I needn’t have worried. Her hands were suddenly buried in my shirt, clinging, and, dragging me down, she rose on tiptoe to mash our lips together. I groaned as I fell into the kiss, her lips parting beneath mine allowing me to slip my tongue into her mouth as we kissed with a passion I hadn't felt in years.