Page 95 of Between Love and War
Behind him, Michael raises an eyebrow. His expression flickers—something unreadable passing across his face—but then he recovers. Smiles. Gives me a thumbs up.
A thumbs up.
My stomach does something strange again. Isn’t this the dream? A guy showing interest in me? A guy who lives in town, lives like I do? Safe?
I think of Michael’s hand on my shoulder earlier. His voice calling me ‘tomato.’ His laugh. His smirk. The way he looked at me like I wasn’t invisible.
And then I think of that thumbs up. Cool. Casual. Like this meant nothing. Like I should go for it. Like I should say yes.
So maybe I will. “Sure,” I say, a little too brightly. “Coffee sounds… great.”
Dan’s smile widens. “Cool. I’ll text you then?”
“Sure,” I repeat. I feel like a robot.
He walks away, and I finally look at Michael. He lowers his thumbs up, still grinning, but it feels… different now.
“Well, look at you, Katherine,” he says. “You didn’t even need the charisma training.” He runs a towel over his hair.
“Shut up,” I say. The way he said it was teasing, but I can’t shake off the feeling that he’s not exactly in a cheerful mood. Maybe I’m just making an assumption, but still. “It’s just a casual invitation. He might not even text me,” I say, partlybecause I don’t really expect that to happen. Partly because I honestly don’t want it to.
“Of course he will,” Michael says.
“How are you so sure?”
He shrugs like it’s obvious. “You’re very textable.”
I laugh, but it feels hollow in my throat. “What does that even mean?”
“It means…” he tosses the towel over his shoulder, eyes catching mine for a second too long, “if I were him, I’d text you.”
I want to ask him what he means. I want to ask him if the thumbs up was a joke or a dare. I want to ask him if he’s really fine with this. With Dan. With me. But I don’t.
Because that would be messy. That would mean giving in.
“Did you see me, Miss Kate?” Polly’s voice cuts through the tension in the air. Michael chuckles and carries Polly on his shoulders. “I had three points!”
I laugh, for real this time. “You were amazing, Polly,” I say. She gives me a fist bump.
“I’ll see you outside,” Michael says as he walks away with Polly. I nod, watching them disappear into the crowd.
I don’t know why I feel so weird right now. Like something’s off. Is it because of Dan? Is it because of what Haley said about me setting myself up for pain? Is it the way Bon and Emily looked at me like I was already in love and just didn’t know it yet? Or is it the way Michael acted too casually earlier, like nothing really shifted between us over the past few days?
I sigh as I smile at the parents taking photos with Michael, Chris, and Vince. Kids run around, and I keep my eye on them, but my brain is still all over the place.
I don’t know why a thumbs-up from Michael has been replaying in my head. I don’t know why saying yes to Dan made me feel like I’d closed a door I wasn’t ready to admit was open.
I take a sugar cookie from the refreshments table, and munch on it until most kids are out of the arena. Sweets are always a good idea. When love is unclear and feelings are messy, sugar is consistent.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Michael
It’s my last day at the preschool today, and I’m sitting in Kate’s classroom, waiting for her to give me my assessment. I don’t really need this assessment. Heather’s gonna release a PR statement saying this is where I’ve been in the past months and post some lowkey photos. Also, to be honest, the past three months didn’t feel like a chore to me. It was easy and enjoyable, to say the least.
What’s not enjoyable, though, is watching Kate agree to a date in front of my very eyes. Sure, I don’t have any right to feel anything about that. I was the one who agreed to help her up her game, though I didn’t even do anything except praise her outfit choices. I hate to admit it, but it’s less about my coaching and more about the confidence she’s gained. And that means guys get to notice her. And I should be happy for her.
“Here ya go!” Kate appears in the classroom. She’s wearing one of those floral dresses again. She rarely wears them these days, and I’m glad to see it. Apparently too glad.
