Page 13 of Love at First Slice
“Is this okay, though?” I stared at her. “I mean, he’s your boss and?—“
“Babe.” Tabby reached for my hand, her dark eyes searching my hazel ones. “You can date whoever you want. If I think about it now, you two make sense.”
“We do?”
“You’re both gorgeous,” Rosie said, slinging an arm over my shoulder. Ember did the same, resting her head on the other side.
“You guys would have seriously hot kids,” Ember added, and I rolled my eyes.
“Kids? That’s getting a little ahead of ourselves,” I squeaked, fighting the images that started to pop up in my head. Little dark-haired kids with his smile and my eyes. “We are definitely getting ahead of ourselves.” I shook my head and looked at my friends in the mirror. “For all I know, the minute I walk out of here, he’s gone.”
“I’ll bet you he’s not,” Ember responded with a know-it-all smile. “I bet you—“ I didn’t get to finish our bet because right in that moment, a heavy knock sounded at the bathroom door.
“Hey.” I didn’t need to hear more to know it was Mark. Mark was on the other side of the door, and I could only imagine he’d just overheard everything that had been said. Can a black hole pop up and just suck me away?“Just checking on you. Everything okay?” His now familiar deep voice called. I shut my eyes.
“Told you so,” Ember whispered with a slight giggle.
“Shut up. He’s going to hear you,” I groaned.
“Umm, yeah! Everything’s good,” Tabitha called out, and for some god forsaken reason, Rosie opened the door.
We all turned to find Principal Mark standing at the doorway, slightly surprised at seeing four women crammed into a guest bathroom. I should have been embarrassed or hurrying out of there, but as I stared at him, all I could think about was one thing. When I was in school, I never got in trouble or sent to the principal’s office, but I found myself wondering if he’d have a lesson or two to teach me.
“You guys disappeared,” he noted, snapping me out of my dirty schoolgirl fantasy.
“There was an emergency,” Ember blurted.
“In the bathroom?” Concern laced his gaze before it locked on me. I felt myself brighten up like a tomato.
“No! Not, like, digestive!” Rosie tried to save, and all I wanted to vanish into thin air. “There was a spider,” she added, and the other two giggled. “Huge ugly spider.”
“But we got it,” Tabitha said. “Okay, well, now that we’ve all washed our hands after that… how about we go get dessert plated up? Rosie? Ember?” Tabitha impressed me with how calm and cool she seemed to be.
And just like that, they slipped past Mark, leaving the two of us alone in the bathroom.
“They’re kind of…”
“Helpful?” he guessed, but I shook my head.
“I was going to go with special, but helpful works, too.” I sighed and shook my head, then stepped out of the bathroom and into the darkened hallway. “I’m sorry about them. Did you need to use the—“ I pointed behind me, but he didn’t look away from me. He simply shook his head.
“No. I really just wanted to make sure you hadn’t disappeared.”
“Oh.”Does that mean he has been looking for me?
Mark moved slightly, and suddenly, his body caged mine against the wall. Not that he pressed against me enough to touch mine, but he was close enough I felt his body heat radiate onto me. Warm and cozy. He tipped his head lower.
“I’m really glad I came here tonight.” His Adam’s apple distracted me as it bobbed up and down. I liked the sight of it. I wanted to do nothing more than lean forward and lick his skin. Find out if he tasted as good as he smelled.
“I’m glad, too,” I admitted, feeling a little more vulnerable than I was used to. “Do you think?—“
“Shit!” a deep voice sounded, but for some reason, neither of us jumped away. I watched as a muscle under Mark’s handsome face twitched, obviously annoyed we were interrupted.
And I kinda liked that.
“Sorry to mess up this vibe, man, but could I use the—“ Austin, the hot bartender from the bar, pointed at the bathroom. I could feel how much Mark didn’t want to move. Maybe because I felt the same way? Unfortunately, it wasn’t like he had any other choice. When he pushed off the wall, I missed his heat and scent immediately.
Austin walked past us and closed the door. The moment was definitely over as I stepped away and shoved my hands into the pockets of my just-above-the-knee corduroy skirt.
