Page 49 of Scoop Me Up
I stretched my leg out and returned my foot to its place touching Sam’s, and the moment I made contact, they looked down bashfully, their cheeks coloring. Just as it seemed our dinner was going to end quietly, someone came up from behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.
I looked up to find an older man looking down at me, a fond smile on his face. “I’m happy for you. We all are. Welcometo Maplewood.” Without another word, and before I could respond, he nodded and walked away.
When I turned my attention back to Sam, they were chuckling softly and shaking their head.
“What the hell wasthat?”
Sam put a hand over their face for a moment, eyes closed, before looking at me again. “That was Mr. Watkins. He’s harmless, but…”
“But what?”
“I think our plan to keep this undercover is shot to hell. We’ll be in the Maplewood Matters blog before the sun comes up.”
Confused, I narrowed my eyes and frowned. “Thewhat?”
“Maplewood Matters. It’s a gossip blog about the people in town. Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. What had I gotten myself into? In Burlington, people minded their own business. Apparently, not so much in Maplewood.
Sage stopped by again as my mind was racing with ways to keep our secrets secret. “Can I get you two anything for dessert?”
Swallowing hard, I looked at Sam. Did I want to stay and have a piece of pie? Hell yes. Did I want to race back to Sam’s house and see what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into? Also, yes. I shrugged, raising my palms. “Up to you.”
Sam shook their head, a mischievous glimmer in their eye. “I think we just need the check.”
“Sounds good,” Sage said with a nod.
Once we’d paid our tab and left the diner, I felt like I could breathe again. The night was beautiful and the fresh air and space was a welcome change from the small-ish diner. We walked along the sidewalk, our shoulders occasionally bumping, my hands stuffed in my pockets to keep them to myself while we walked.
“Sam, I—” When they looked at me, dark eyes shining in the moonlight, my breath caught in my throat. I’d wanted to tell them I liked them, not just in a physical way, but maybe in a relationship kind of way, but the more I thought about the words I wanted to say, the sillier and more self-conscious I felt. There were too many unknownsandtoo many potential eavesdroppers around. Even though it looked like we were mostly alone on the street, I knew better than to think the well-meaning townspeople wouldn’t have found a way to spy on us.
“Yeah?”
I shook my head. “Never mind.” We kept walking, tension building inside of me. What was going to happen when we got back to Sam’s place?Somany questions spiraled through my mind. I realized, though, for the first time since the divorce, I didn’t feel quite so alone, being in Sam’s presence.
When we made it back to the house, the tension seemed to stretch between us. The air was thick with anticipation as Sam opened the door and held it for me. And the moment it was closed behind them, I turned, shoved Sam against the door, and captured their mouth in a searing, desperate kiss.
Chapter 19
Sam
Gabe and I went to bed—in separate rooms—several hours later than I was used to, thanks to our lengthy make-out session, and when I woke the next morning, I was bleary-eyed and still tired. I grabbed my phone to scroll a little before I had to get up and head to school, only to find I had a half dozen texts from people in town, all saying they were “just checking in.” Cooper, Mayor Axlerod, a teacher friend, and more. As I got dressed, Cooper texted me an excerpt fromMaplewood Matters, speculating on the fact that “perpetually single elementary school teacher Sam was seen for the second night in a row with summer visitor Gabe—and rumor has it, Gabe has taken up temporary residence with Sam.” It ended with a comment about how we couldn’t seem to keep our eyes off of each other.
There was never going to be any “no going public” with our… whatever this is, was there?I thought, shaking my head at the article in the gossip blog. Soon enough, Gabe would return to Burlington and there wouldn’t be anything left to speculate on with my love life and they would move on to the next unsuspecting victim.
I drove to school that morning, my stomach in knots as I prepared to tell the principal the news. Ihatedto quit and leave him in a tough spot to find a replacement, but I had to do what was right for me and follow my dreams.
The hallways were quiet as I made my way into the school building, inhaling deeply and letting my breath out slowly. There was something not necessarilycalmingabout being in school for me, but familiar. Home-like. I hoped I’d feel the same way about the ice cream shop soon enough.
I knew deep down that quitting now was the right thing to do. It gave the principal time to find a replacement teacher, at the very least, but part of me was terrified. All the fears of failure and risk-taking bubbled up inside me, threatening to choke me. I could feel myself stalling.
Once I’d put my things down in my classroom and set up for the day, I knew I’d procrastinated enough. Kids would be arriving in less than a half hour and I needed to talk to Principal Carnell. I walked to the office, each footstep sluggish, like I was walking through mud.Stop it, I told myself.You’re following your dreams.
When I got to the main office, I nodded at the secretary. My plan was to say hello quickly and move on to speak to the principal. Rip the bandage off.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get that lucky.
“Sam,” she said in a singsong tone. “Good to see you this morning.”
