“Night, bud,” Jamie says.
I help Aiden change and get into bed, tuck him in, and kiss him on the top of the head. “Love you, Aiden. Sleep well.”
Aiden just nods sleepily as I shut off the light and rearrange his crutches. Within seconds, he’s snoring, and I head back out into the living room.
“Wow, that was fast,” Jamie says.
I shake my head. “No kidding. Usually he tries to get me to let him stay up a few more minutes. One more episode, a few more minutes of playing with his LEGOs, or he just dawdles over brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. And when he is finally in bed, he usually reads for a while.”
“So he must be pretty bushed.”
I nod. “It was a lot for him, today.”
Silence between us.
Jamie is leaning against the dining room table, fiddling with the top of a chair. “I, um…”
“Thank you again, Jamie.” I let my eyes rest on his.
He shrugs. “I’m his coach and his principal. Plus, I just like the kid.”
I lift an eyebrow. “You’re an educator and a principal. Don’t you like all kids?”
“You know, I feel like, professionally, I’m obligated to say yes, but…” he laughs, “personally speaking, no, I don’t. Some kids are just…little buttheads. Their parents haven’t taught them manners, or how to just be decent people. My job is to treat them all the same, to show them the same considerations and make sure everyone receives the best education possible, but…I don’t personallylikeevery child.”
I make a face. “Yeah, I get that. It’s not that I have favorites, but…”
“Kids are people, and we click with some people and not others. Kids are no different, they’re just not finished developing. I’ve had kids I taught come back a few years later and they’ve grown up a bit and changed, and I like them more than when I taught them. But others…just rub me the wrong way every time I see them.” He glances at his feet, and then up at me, his gaze on my cleavage for a moment before finding my eyes. “I just…Aiden is one of those kids I just genuinely like. I truly enjoy hanging out with him, talking to him. He’s a really, really great kid, and that reflects on you as his mom.”
I blush. “He makes it easy. He really is great. Even as a baby, he wasn’t difficult. He didn’t cry much except for the usual stuff, you know—needing a diaper or a bottle—and as he’s grown up he just…he’s just cool.” I roll my eyes. “I mean, I’m his mom, so I guess I have to think that. But I also just think he’s a cool kid.”
“He is.”
I feel the tension between us like a physical presence, a tangling object.
I feel him wanting to look at me, yet constantly forcing his gaze away. I feel his presence, his gaze. I feel my own pull to him.
A visceral memory of him assaults me—his lips, his hands. Darkness around us, skin sliding on skin. Moonlight on his back as it ripples and undulates above me.
I turn away, chewing on my lower lip.
“What?” Jamie asks. “What it is?”
I swallow hard. I’m not sure what to say. “I just…you being here, being alone with you like this…”
He goes very, very still, his eyes locked on mine, his expression unreadable, carefully neutral. “Elyse, I know what you’ve said, and I haven’t forgotten.”
“I’m just so confused, Jamie.” I say this not looking at him, but at his feet, his dirty, battered running shoes.
“Confused about what?”
“You, me…this.”
Jamie nods. “I know what you mean. It’s a weird, confusing situation.” He sucks in a breath, holds it, and then lets it out slowly. Hesitating, thinking about what to say. “Elyse, I…I’m trying to just be your friend. I really am. But it’s the hardest damn thing.”
“You’re so great with Aiden. He just absolutely worships you, and…” I swallow hard. “I can’t deny I’m attracted to you, that I like you.”
“But…” he prompts.
