I nodded, acknowledging them, and changed my shirt.
“You sure you want to give them up?” Chris jerked his chin toward the women.
“Yes.”
“You’re a helluva lot braver than me. Settling down and falling in love is a risk I won’t be taking.”
I snorted. “You say that now…”
“Naw, man, I mean it. You might have found your angel, but that’s not something I will ever let happen.”
“Okay, man.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“Neither do you. I’m out. I’ll see you Friday.” I made my way off the tower.
“Yeah. Tell Scarlett I said hi.”
I gave him a thumbs-up and rushed out to my Jeep, anxious to see my girl.
Nine pairs of inquisitive eyes were on me once Red put me in a corner with a few chocolate cookies to ease my nerves. The kids intimidated the crap out of me.
One little brunette raised her hand.
“Yes, Mikayla?” Red stepped toward the little girl. Her sheer black skirt flowed. Damn, she looked gorgeous in her dance clothes and hair in a bun.
“Is he your boyfriend?” she whispered but not low enough for me to not hear. I stifled a laugh.
Red looked my way as if not knowing what to say. I gave her a sharp nod. Why was she still unsure after we’d talked about being in a committed relationship just last night?
“Yes, Mikayla, he is.”
“Oooh,” the children said in unison and giggled.
My face might have turned cherry red like Red’s.
“Okay, class. Shall we begin? Enough about Mr. Ashford. I want your eyes on me and your feet in first position.” She had a remote in her hand and classical music flowed through the speakers. Hearing her call me Mr. Ashford turned me on big time.
The kids hadn’t been the only ones keeping their eyes on Red. I didn’t take mine off her the entire hour. Her beauty captivated me. She had unlimited patience for the kids, showing them how to correctly point their toes and fix their hands and posture. They stared at her with stars in their eyes, just like me.
One by one, she hugged her students. It melted my heart, observing the remarkable woman I was enamored with and listening to her students.
Bye, Miss Scarlett.
See you next week, Miss Scarlett.
I like your boyfriend, Miss Scarlett.
She whirled around after the last kid left and ran toward me and leaped into my arms. I caught her and spun her around.
“You looked so sexy sitting in the corner eating your cookies. I nearly jumped on your lap about a dozen times. You’re quite irresistible, you know.” She peppered kisses all over my face, making me smile.
“You’re the irresistible one. Now tell me, you didn’t have to bend over half as many times as you did. Am I right? You were taunting me.”
Her cheeks flamed red. “Maybe. Think you’d like to bend me over the table when we get to your place?”
“Fuck, you know I would.” I kissed her, getting all hard for her. My hand glided over her ass and up her back and she squirmed in my arms.