“I know. My class keeps begging to make their crafts, but I’m keeping it for closer to the festival.”
Erik and Luke saunter over to our table with wide smiles.
“We’re back ladies,” Erik says, taking one of the empty seats while Luke chuckles and sits near Andrea.
When the waiter comes by, we order pizza and breadsticks, and I take in the camaraderie in the restaurant. I love Emerald Bay for this very reason. There are always people out and about thanks to our mostly good weather year-round.
We’ll get chilly weather in the winter, but it’s nothing like some other states up north. And while our summers are scorching, it’s just more reason to go to the beach and spend time with friends in a laid-back atmosphere.
“I’m so tired,” I say.
“Me too. Concerts are exhausting.” Dani yawns.
“Day drinking is what’s exhausting,” I challenge on a laugh.
“You’re just a weakling,” Erik teases me.
“Whatever.” I stick my tongue out at him.
“I’m sleeping in tomorrow.” Andrea rubs her eyes.
“I wish. I have to go to the station,” Dani rolls her eyes.
“At least you got to enjoy today instead of working it,” I tell her.
“Yup, I’d hate to miss you and Nate firing things up.” She winks.
I widen my eyes and kick her under the table.
“What?” Luke sits up with a smirk. “You and Nate?” He arches a brow as his grin widens.
“No.” My heart races. The last thing I need is for my guy friends to rag me about this, especially since they work with Nate. “We danced, and you know how Dani is. She’s already making things up in that head of hers.” I press my lips together. My leg bounces under the table to burn off my nerves.
I don’t need more people thinking anything is going on between Nate and me. Nate is someone I should keep as an acquaintance. If the nice guys I’ve gone out with have turned out to be toads, I can just imagine what the handsome devil would become in my life.
Chapter 11
Nate
“Likestrangerdangerwetalked about the other day?” a little girl asks.
“Exactly, but sometimes people aren’t quite strangers. You should always wait for the adult in charge of you to tell you if you’re leaving with someone else,” I explain, following up on our last lesson.
“But if I know them, they’re no stranger,” a boy argues.
Sometimes it’s hard explaining these things to children because they’re still innocent, and I don’t want to steal that from them or traumatize them. Unfortunately, in my line of work, I’ve witnessed how sometimes the people who do the most damage are people close to the victim.
I take a deep breath, staring at the wide and confused eyes as I shift in this tiny ass chair without falling. My knees are up by my chest because this chair is so close to the ground.
I look at Lizzy, but her attention is on a stack of papers with a pen in one hand and the fingers on her other hand twirling her ponytail. She’s engrossed in whatever she’s working on, and likely ignoring me after the way I behaved on Saturday.
“Yes, it’s why I said sometimes the people may be familiar, but unfortunately, not everyone we know is nice. It’s important to put your trust on the adult in charge of you, even if someone is telling you to leave with them when it’s not a normal occurrence.”
“Occurrence?” Another girl scrunches up her nose. I can’t keep all their names straight.
“Thing,” I say, trying to clarify my words. “When it’s not a normal thing to happen.”
It’s so much easier to talk to older kids where you can be straight with them. The high school students I’m working with on Tuesdays and Thursdays are easier in that sense. Looking at this group of first graders, I wonder when my life went down this path. I had a great job in Dallas. One where I was able to help at-risk teens and dealt with adults instead of defining the words I use so small children can understand me.