Page 67 of Dare You to See Me
“Do you ever have weekends free?” Wesley asks, holding the door open for the both of us to pass.
“Um, not really. My parents don’t live here and we don’t have any other family around.” The entire walk I had to listen to Wesley talk about his latest online dating disaster.
Apparently the woman had the nerve to show up and expect him to pay for dinner.The gall. My ick-o-meter was off the charts and then he asked me on yet another date.
“Well no worries,” he adds. “It can be a three person date. Wouldn’t that be fun, Dahlia?”
Now this dip-wad is employing my daughter to help him score a date. Dahlia stays mum and we reach the classroom where Malik stands at the door.
His jaw clenches and he greets us with a tight smile. Obviously he didn’t get my text and now he’s seeing red.
“Hi Mr. Dare. We rode our scooters to school this morning.” Dahlia hugs his legs and he pats her back.
“Did you? I bet that was fun. Morning Mason.” He greets the little boy who gives him a high five as he passes by.“Mr. Collier. Ms. Brooks. Good morning.”
“Hello.” I try to soften his mood with a warm smile but he isn’t taking the bait.
“Should we head back?” Wesley asks without giving Malik a second thought.
I open my mouth, hoping I choke in order to get out of spending one more second with this man.
“Ms. Brooks. Are you still available to assist me this morning?” Malik balls his hands into fists and slides them inside his pockets. “I have a bunch of packets that need to be put together for the fall activities and I just don’t think I can do them all on my own.”
I let out an audible gush of air when I realize what he’s doing. He did get the text and he’s throwing me a lifeline.
“Oh that’s right. I almost forgot. Yes, of course I can stay.” I hear the crunching of teeth and look over at Wesley.
Fire swirls in his eyes and his nostrils flare. It’s a standoff between fire and ice, and I’m the poor sucker stuck in the middle.
“Would you like me to wait for you, Soleil?” Wesley asks.
“That’s okay. I don’t know how long this will take and I’d hate for you to be late for work. Thanks for the walk. Have a good day.” I give him a quick wave and push past Malik into the classroom.
I’ve never volunteered in his class before and I don’t really know what to do. So I just go stand by his desk like I’m waiting for instructions.
“Hey kids. Dahlia’s mom is going to be helping out this morning, so let’s show her how we can be on our best behavior.” Dahlia cheers as do the other kids, and Malik struts his way over.
Lord, he’s so sexy. Seeing him in his teacher’s “uniform” is almost as good as his chef’s outfit he wore on Sunday. His scowl begins to fade as he draws closer. He finally stands near me and I feel like I can breathe again.
“What happened?” He towers in front of me, blocking the kids from having a view.
“He literally just showed up. When I asked how he knew my address, he said he did a reverse search with my cellphone number. Is that possible?”
I feel the slightest touch on my hand and look down to see Malik’s finger run across the back of mine.
“Unfortunately it is possible. There are a lot of sites where you can look up people’s information with just a few details. Usually for a fee. That means the creep was really desperate to have it.”
My stomach sours and dread rolls over my entire being. He has my number. He knows where I live. If he can find all of that through a simple site, I’m sure there is plenty more he can dig up.
I lay my hand on my stomach and feel the blood drain from my face.
“Are you okay?” Malik lays his hand on mine this time, and the warmth brings comfort.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Why don’t you hang out in the classroom for a couple of hours. You can read to the kids or just sit at my desk and fade away. Whatever you want. But I don’t want you walking home alone. Not with him out there.”
I nod and take a few deep breaths. “Give me something to do to take my mind off of it. I don’t care if it’s cutting paper or organizing your file cabinet. I’ll do anything that will allow me to check out.”
