Page 53 of Disorderly

John looked at Jason who nodded before their gazes returned to me. “Thank you for sharing that. It just proves to us that we’ve made the right choice. Now it’s up to you. We’ll send you over all the various proposals for you to review and make suggestions to. And if you decide that this is the way for you to go, to leave your current firm, then let us know. We’re behind you either way.”

Excitement bubbled up inside me. The dream that I’d stifled, never wanting to let it take root, broke its chains, and soared into being. Now I just needed to decide. Did I want to stay or go? It wouldn’t be easy, but thankfully my analytical brain found this type of activity relaxing even if the choice would have a major impact on my life. At least I’d be calm making it.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Katy

I rushed into the guys’house after cheerleading practice, excited to find out how Jarrod’s meeting went with his hopefully former boss. “So, how did it go? Is he letting you purchase the local office? What will be your new company name? What can I do to help?”

“Relax, Kitty-Kat”—I scrunched my nose up at my former nickname until I noticed Peter sprawled out on the couch—“Take a breath and give me a chance to answer your questions.” Jarrod chuckled as his gaze heated my skin. It had been too long since we had any time… alone… together. And I missed him. I missed touching him, kissing him, but most importantly, I missed not having a barrier—by the name of Peter—between us. Not that I minded having Peter there because I didn’t. I loved every minute I was able to spend with Peter when he wasn’t inteachermode. Cooking with him, watching movies, swimming, relaxing, it was almost like being with my old friend before I got older, and he became a teacher. Things that forced a space between us.

I stripped off my spring jacket, hanging it on my hook by the front door and toed off my runners, using the time to take a couple of deep breaths and to slow my heartbeat. When I felt somewhat calm, I dropped into the space between Peter and Jarrod that magically appeared on the couch.

“Now that we’re all here…” I squealed at the sound of Jason’s voice coming through the open laptop I hadn’t even noticed on the coffee table.

“Jason, you’re here!”

He chuckled. “Of course, I’m here. Even if I can’t be there in person, in some manner, I’ll always be with you guys for anything important.”

He was another person I’d been missing. While his company was still ahead of projections on their giant construction project, it hadn’t given him any extra time off. None of them wanted to slow down now that they could see the end. Not when summer and the potential for more jobs stretched out before them. And while I was extremely happy for him and proud of all he accomplished, I hoped he never had to leave home for this long again.

“Does anyone want to hear about my day?” Peter sat up, pressing against my side so we could all be seen on the screen.

A chorus of “no’s” filled the air and at Peter’s pout, we all chuckled. He clutched his chest. “I’m so hurt. No one wants to hear about how my class of bratty freshmen didn’t listen to a word I’d said, preferring to stare outside instead. Or about how a couple of the senior football players decided it would be fun to prank my desk as one their senior hijinks.”

I rolled my eyes before holding up my phone. “The last one is online. I’ll send you all the links after.”

Peter’s mouth dropped open. “It’s what?”

I laughed so hard, tears started to roll down my cheeks, making Jarrod and Jason chuckle as Peter looked at me with wide eyes as he wondered about what exactly they’d uploaded. When I could speak around the chuckles, I explained how it hadn’t just been a prank by a couple of football players, but one of the senior class pranks, complete with hidden cameras to record Peter’s look and confusion when he entered his classroom to find his desk had been completely turned inside out and backwards. They’d even managed to put the drawer handles on the backside of the drawers, but made it look like it was the front. It meant that Peter spent about five minutes trying to pull open his drawers that wouldn’t open. The cameras even picked up all his mutterings as he tried to figure what the heck was wrong with his desk.

On screen, Jason rubbed his hands together in glee. “Holy fuck. That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see it. So much better than when we turned the principal’s office into the birthing pen for that mean goat of Chuck’s.”

Peter mock glared at Jason. “We weren’t involved in that stunt, remember? And no one can prove otherwise.” He winked at my chuckle. That stunt was legendary because the goat in question gave birth before the principal arrived for the day and wouldn’t allow anyone to get close. It took them almost a week before they were able to remove the goat and her calf from the office and another two weeks before they could get the smell to leave. “But before we start going any further down memory lane, how about we hear what Jarrod has to say?”

“But these stories are so entertaining.” Jarrod grinned. “It’s always fun hearing about the things you were involved in during your misspent youth.” Jason glared at Jarrod even though his gaze kept darting to me as if he didn’t want me to know any more about how they misspent their youth. I rolled my eyes in response. I’d grown up with stories and tended to overhear a lot when I was younger. I knew way more about them then what they knew I knew. “But you’re right, Peter. I should probably tell you all that by mid-July, the office will be under new management. Or at least under a new name since I’ll still be running it.”

We all cheered and told him how excited we were for him. And as I continued to watch him, I couldn’t help but notice how relaxed he looked. The tightness of the muscles around his shoulders were smoothed out and his spirit seemed lighter. That alone made me happy because I hated to watch how stressed he’d been over the way his former—I was so excited to call them that—company was treating him.

I tuned back into the conversation when they discussed celebrating the news. Jason suggested that Peter and Jarrod go out on Friday night without him since he was needed on the construction site that weekend, telling them that they could celebrate together once his build was complete. “… and take Katy with you.”

“Can’t on Friday. She has a party that her friends want her to go to.” I turned my glare on Peter. He knew I didn’t want to go. He’d overheard me telling Mason excuses that I scrambled to make up even as to why I wasn’t able to attend. Not that Mason didn’t have a comeback or workaround for each excuse that I threw at him.

“I haven’t decided to go.”

“Katy-bear, you should go. You haven’t gone to a single party this year.”

I grinned at Jason. “Yes, I have. I went to a party.”

He chuckled. “That wasn’t a party. Besides, it doesn’t count if it’s at your house for your birthday.”

“But—”

“No buts. Go. Have fun. Relax and let loose. I’ll even call you on Saturday so you can tell me all about it.”

“Jason’s right.” Jarrod placed his large hand on my thigh. The heat from it seeped through the jeans I wore, branding me with his comfort and love. I knew they meant well and that they only wanted the best for me. They didn’t want me to miss out on anything and I knew they worried that by being with me, they were limiting me, blocking me from being a true teenager even if I never would have gone to a party even under different circumstances. Yet I hated knowing that I made them worry. I wanted them to be as happy as they made me. And the answer seemed simple enough… I’d go to that stupid party and hate every minute. Or maybe I’d just have a little fun. After all, that was the point they kept trying to make. I was still young and didn’t know what things I liked and didn’t without giving the new experiences a try.

“Fine, I’ll go.” The words tasted like rocks in my mouth, but their answering smiles made it all worthwhile.

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