Page 36 of Bring me Back

Christ.It was stupid how much trouble I was in.

Cole placed a shopping basket on the counter between me and Preston with a thud and took my attention from Hallie. I felt her stepping closer, craning her neck to have a good look at the items inside the basket, and frowned.

“Those are supplies for the theater,” she accused.

“No,” I lied.

She grabbed the packet of thin wire from the basket. I doubled my original order so she could have extra for the wings. She waved the package in front of my face.

“Are you making fairy wings, Daniel?”

I couldn’t stop from chuckling. “I use wire in my day to day, thank you very much. Can you stop touching my shopping? I will call the manager on you.”

Hallie’s eyes warmed. I’d take being silly any day of the week if I was going to be rewarded by her laugh each time. She licked her lips and shook her head, putting the package back in its place and then crouched under the counter to pass to the other side. Going on her tiptoes, she kissed Preston’s cheek. I observed them lip tied, especially when I noticed the dumbfounded expression on the man’s face.

“Those are the things I told you we need a better discount for, dad,” she told her old man.

I opened my mouth to talk, but she held a hand up, stopping me. I laughed and let her continue. “What can you do for us?” she pushed.

Her dad seemed to be completely perplexed by his own daughter. I knew sassy Hallie didn’t always come to play, but by his reaction, I would think he never saw that side of her.

“Family discount, bug?” he finally said.

She tilted her head to the side. “Not your usual family and friends discount, dad. Let’s say daughter’s discount.”

Preston glanced down at my basket. “That’s his shopping, though.” And I wasn’t sure if he was just against giving me the discount or if he was digging into whatever it was between his daughter and me.

Hallie shook her head. “That is mostly for me.” I got a small smile as she turned her back and left for the backroom. But we both heard when she murmured, “That’s Daniel being Daniel.”

I watched her go, doing my best not to follow the swing of her hips. I looked back to Preston, his gaze burning into my skull. Damage control, I guessed, trying to look as calm as I could.

“Any help with the school supplies is appreciated,” I told him.

Preston grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest; he suddenly looked taller. We were mostly the same height, but his chin went up and his eyes narrowed. “You are both getting close.”

I had no idea how to reply to that.

“Yes.” I had the urge to add “sir” to the end of that sentence, but he and I were closer to age than me and his daughter. Just that realization made me shift on my foot. Preston was in his forties, built like a truck, even though I wasn’t far behind. I thought about Mark and how he’d feel if someone close to his age was hanging out with one of the girls, but I stopped myself in that line of thought.

“I guess it’s good she’s making friends,” he finally said after watching me in silence for terrifying thirty seconds.

I cleared my throat. “Sure.”

His eyes narrowed again. “Friends, Miller.”

I nodded since I couldn’t give him the verbal confirmation. Nothing I felt toward Hallie was very friendly, but I wasn’t ready to advertise it. Eventually, Preston stepped back, calling Cole to finish charging me for my shopping and telling him the amount of discount I was given.

Daughter’s discount was very generous after all.

He disappeared through the back door, and I breathed again. Cole came behind the counter and scanned the first item as I kept my gaze pinned on the door which Hallie disappeared to.

“Teach?” Cole called.

“Hmm?” I replied, distracted.

“He’s gonna kill you if you fuck his daughter.”

And for the first time, I understood why no other teacher liked Cole Thompson.

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