"I agree. I'm very grateful for Evelyn. She was one of the only reasons we made it through after Olivia passed. She did a lot for us." I hoped and prayed Grace didn't have mind reading capabilities, or that my thoughts weren't written all over my face. A lot of things had happened after my wife died, and I wasn't proud of all of them, but my past was my past.
With four hot dogs between the two of us-because I knew Jaxy would want more than one-we made our way back to the table. Evie and Ruby had beaten us back, and Ruby turned to me with a wide smile.
"Dad," she said excitedly, "Aunt Evie says she and Uncle Nate will take us over to Space Mountain next. It's supposed to be the coolest roller coaster ever. It's all in the dark."
I took my spot next to Jaxy, spreading our food out while he bit into his lunch without a second's hesitation. "Are you guys sure Space Mountain is the best ride to go on right after lunch?"
"Oh," Nate said, sucking in a breath so it hissed through his teeth. "He's got a point, babe. I know you're used to being around little kids, but I'm a sympathetic barfer and if one goes, I'm definitely going too."
"Wow," Evie said, laughing. "Just when I thought there wasn't anything else to learn about you."
"I promise I won't throw up," Jaxy swore, making everyone laugh. "No, really, last year I went to the spring break carnival with Grandma and Grandpa. I had three slices of pizza, cotton candy, and a milkshake, then went on the Gravitron, like, seven times. Didn't barf once."
"Jax," I said with a groan, "stop talking about throwing up. We're all trying to eat." Jaxy shrugged and then took a giant bite of his hot dog.
"I'll brave the roller coaster," Evie said with a smile. "We'll just make them sit behind us."
Chapter Seven
Grace
The last day of school was always a mixed bag of emotions. I was glad school was out, was looking forward to two months of not teaching, but that year in particular I would really miss the kids. This was the first time my life hadn't severely intruded on my work, so I'd spent one blissfully drama-free year teaching those kids, and something in my brain didn't want to let them go; didn't want the first successful year to be over.
But the summer promised to be good. Promised to be relaxing. Promised to be exactly what I imagined when I moved to Florida.
I took a job bartending in the evenings on the weekends. I wasn't looking to participate in the party that seemed to sprout up when the sun went down, but I definitely didn't have a problem making money serving alcohol to those who did. Two or three nights of tending bar gave me almost what I made in a week teaching, and I needed something to sustain me over the summer. I'd started three weekends ago, in order to be trained before summer officially started, and working both jobs was really taking a toll on me.
That, coupled with the emotional good-bye to twenty-six second graders, left me mentally and physically exhausted. Luckily, the last day of school fell on a Wednesday, so I had a day to recover before I had to go back to the night job.
I left the school building, hearing the door close with a familiar thud that felt more final than it ever had before, and the emotions started to come over me. I felt the pinching in my throat and stinging in my eyes. I didn't want to cry, but the idea of not seeing those tiny faces smiling at me every morning pulled at me. I made it to my car without a tear, but once the car door was shut behind me, one slid down each cheek. I'd wiped them away, still trying not to lose control, when I heard the ping of my phone indicating I had a text.
**You're not crying outside of a school, are you?**
This came from Devon and made me laugh. Since our trip to Disney I'd seen him a few times when he was picking Jax up from TAG, and we'd been texting back and forth sporadically. The texts were friendly and completely appropriate, but it didn't mean I wasn't excited to receive them. Something about attention from Devon lit me up inside, made the day-to-day seem more vibrant and exciting. From the little flutters in my stomach to the random smiles whenever he came to mind, everything about him made me happy.
**Perhaps. I've heard it's cathartic.**
**Need some cheering up?**
I stared at his message for a good minute. In all the texts we'd exchanged in the past six weeks, none of them had alluded to spending more time together. I'd thought about him a lot, but more in a lamenting way, wishing things were different. But now things were different, and he was basically asking me to meet up with him. I couldn't find a way to make my fingers move, or the thoughts to come up with some sort of reply. He must have figured I was having a minor panic attack because he texted me again.
**Nothing fancy. Just coffee? Between friends.**
Between friends? Ugh. Either I'd been friend zoned, or he was adding the emphasis to make me more comfortable. I didn't know which, but I was hoping for the latter.
**Can I meet you in an hour?**
The idea of meeting Devon looking like I did was terrifying. I needed to go home, shower, and regroup.
**Sure. Name the place.**
I sent him a link to my favorite coffee shop, Silk, and told him I'd be there in an hour.
When I entered the coffee shop, it was practically empty. I immediately spotted Devon sitting on the two-person couch in the corner. He saw me coming and stood with a smooth smile.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," I replied as I came to a stop in front of him. There were a few seconds of awkwardness, neither one of us sure how to greet the other. Handshakes were too formal, hugs were too personal, but when he leaned down, one hand coming to rest on my elbow while his cheek pressed close to mine, I couldn't help but feel the butterflies in my stomach come awake in a flurry. A kiss on the cheek from Devon would definitely go a long way to cheer me up.
He pulled away and I couldn't help the blush that ran warm across my face.
"Can I get you something?" he asked, smile still on his face, hand still on my elbow.
"That'd be great. Vanilla latte, please. Iced."
"Got it." He gave my elbow a gentle squeeze then made his way to the counter. I took a seat on the couch, trying to look as though I was completely at ease, when I totally was not.
He returned with two cups, handing one to me, then sitting next to me on the couch, angled with one knee up so he was facing me, an arm draped along the back.
"You don't look too torn up. There must not have been many tears." He smiled just before he took a sip of his coffee.
"Only a few tears were shed. And it was expected. I'm kind of a crier. I know I'll see most of the kids again, it's just been an exceptionally great year and I'm sad to see it end."
"Look on the bright side: maybe next year's batch will be even better." He winked at me and it only made my smile spread wide across my face.
"I don't know. This year's kids were pretty spectacular."
"Jaxy is going to miss you. He told me so." Those words tugged hard on my heartstrings. "But I told him that perhaps he'd get to see you this summer sometime." Devon let the words hang in the air between us, alluding to more time spent together, and I instantly turned into a shy teenager, looking down at my coffee and smiling even wider.
Then I took in a deep breath, forced my smile to notch down from blinding to simply radiant, and shrugged one shoulder, looking back to him. "Perhaps."
We were flirting. There was no denying it. And while we'd flirted a little at Disney World, this was definitely a new level of flirtation. I wasn't opposed, and found it came back to me easily. Or perhaps it was just who I was flirting with that made it easy.
"So, have any exciting plans for the summer?" he asked, genuinely interested.
"Not really. I'm tending bar part-time on the weekends, and aside from that, I plan on reading and relaxing by the pool at my apartment."
"You took on another job?" His face twisted with confusion.
"When you sign a teaching contract, you can either take your salary split up into twelve months or ten. When I first moved here I took the ten-month deal because it was more per month and being single in Florida isn't the cheapest. So, I have to take a summer job to bridge the gap." His expression had moved from happy and flirty to concerned and even a little aggravated. "I make pretty good money bartending."
"I bet," he grumbled, and took another drink from his mug.
"Do you guys have any good summer plans?" I asked, trying to steer us from the topic that obviously upset him.
"Kids are spending the days with my mom. She's been begging to watch them more, and even though I've resisted this long, I figure two months of them might hold her over," he said, finally letting his smile come back.
"It's great that your parents are close and you can count on them for help."
"Yeah," he said, obviously thinking about his next words carefully. "Can I take you somewhere?"
His question caught me off guard. "Uh, sure," I said hesitantly.
"I just thought maybe we could go for a walk. Talk a little."
"Okay," I said softly, surprised by the sudden change in plans. He stood and held his hand out to me, helping me up. As we approached the door he stepped in front of me, pushing the door open, letting me pass by. I felt his hand gently press on the small of my back and something inside me dissolved. It had been so long since someone had taken care of me in any way. The simple act of opening a door for me sent my heart racing and I smiled because it was so Devon.