“Thanks for taking care of me, Deputy.”
“You know what they say, kiss it to make it feel better,” I toss out, and she giggles.
“I can now attest to the truth behind those words.” She steps out of the bathroom and looks at me. “Are you coming?”
Oh, I’m coming in more ways than one, but I have self-control.
“I’ll be right out.”
She nods and walks away, giving me space, and I stare at myself in the mirror.
“Nate, you don’t know how to do this. Your dad left your mom with two kids. How the hell are you going to be able to be with someone like Lizzy and be sure you’re not going to take after your father?” I talk to myself in the mirror, but instead of the pep talk I need, my inner-self takes the chance to put me down.
Wonderful.
Now, not only did I kiss the girl, I’m risking breaking her heart.
Chapter 14
Lizzy
Itakedeep,evenbreaths as I walk out of the building wishing I had a cap to cover the rash on my face. Surely, the sun won’t be good for it. With all the extra things I keep in my classroom, how is a hat not one of them?
You’re focusing on the wrong thing.
Right, brain, thanks for reminding me that I just kissed Nate at work, in a bathroom. A smile breaks free on my face before I can control it, and I squeal quietly.
We. Kissed.
We freaking kissed, and it felt amazing. Dangerous, but exhilarating. It may have been a bad idea, but I don’t regret it.
“Hey!”
I leap back and blink. Andrea stands in front of me with raised eyebrows and her mouth drops.
“What happened to you? Are you okay?” She leans in to look at my face.
“I’m fine.” I wave her off. “I got an allergic reaction to the face paint, but I cleaned it off and put some ointment. Any chance you have a hat somewhere?” I plead, hoping she’s better prepared than I am.
“I don’t, sorry.” She frowns and shakes her head. “It’d be a good idea to have one in the classroom, although it’s probably best to not cover the rash.” She grimaces.
“I know, but I can’t walk around like this.” I wave a finger around my face.
She fixes her ponytail and pauses halfway. Her eyes widen with a spark. “Shelly probably has some in her class. I mean, they’ll be kids size since it’s for her student’s dress-up station, but your head isn’t very big.” She analyzes my head from different angles.
“I don’t think that would work.” Worse than showing off this rash is wearing a kid costume. Shelly teaches Pre-K 4, and she has a ton of costumes for her students to play with, but they’re not exactly ideal for this situation.
“Maybe she has a cowboy hat or something that won’t be too obvious. Let’s go ask her.” She grabs my hand and drags me toward wherever Shelly is.
“Lizzy, are you okay?” Aunt Natalie stops me.
“I’m fine, just allergies.” I wave her off and continue walking with Andrea.
A parent stops me to ask what happened, and I have to explain that I had an allergic reaction, which caused her stress in case her daughter is also allergic.
Great, now I’m making parents worry.
“It’s just my sensitive skin,” I assure her, staring at Andrea for an escape plan, all the while scratching the parts of my face that aren’t covered in the rash in hopes that helps alleviate the itchiness where I wish I could scratch.