Page 8 of Dare You to See Me
FOUR
SOLEIL
I clickon yet another picture, zooming in on a large, veiny hand that hangs on the shoulder of the man standing next to him. The him being Mr. Dare.
How is a man that hot, that delicious looking, a kindergarten teacher? My daughter's teacher, no less. He should be an underwear model or something. I almost tripped over my own feet when I walked into the class and saw him. Then to find out thathewas the teacher just about knocked me on my ass.
Instead of working like I’m supposed to be doing, I’ve been scrolling the internet for pictures of Dahlia’s teacher. There are plenty of him and two other men, who are tagged as his brothers, from articles talking about their company. Their multi-million dollar company.
Maybe Mr. Lindsey was right. Why would a man with all that money and those looks be teaching kids?
I jump when my phone rings with an incoming FaceTime from Kyle. I chew my lip and think about not answering, but then think again because she’ll stomp her ass over to my house if I don’t answer. She’ll probably think I’m dead.
I touch the join button and take a deep breath.
“How was my girl this morning?” she asks without a hello.
“I’m good. A little sad but I–”
“Not you,” she interrupts. “Dolly?” Kyle has called Dahlia by that nickname almost from the moment she was born, and my little dove loves it.
With a sigh I tell her, “She was just fine. In fact, Dahlia was the one comforting me. I didn’t think it was going to be that difficult to leave her.” I feel that same emotion from earlier build in my throat and I swallow it down.
“Aw. I’m sure she’s fine, Sunny. No need to worry about our girl. She’s a tough cookie.” I hear the clicking of Kyle’s heels as she walks through what I’m assuming is her office.
“She’s already in love with her teacher. He seems very sweet so I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”
The echoing of her shoes stops and Kyle’s voice takes on a flirtatious tone. “He, huh? What does Mr. Kindergarten teacher look like?”
Why did I mention that?“He’s, uh, he’s handsome. I guess.”
“What’s his name?”
I gulp and with a quiet voice tell her, “Malik Dare.”
“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? I thought you said Malik Dare.”
“I did.” I just knew this hooker would know who he is.
She knows everyone in Cattywump Bay. Apparently I’m the one who has been living under a rock because the name Malik Dare has never come into a conversation. Mind you, I’ve only lived in Cattywump Bay for the last three months.
After Gene died, I needed to be away from all of the stares and whispers. It was all too overwhelming. My Mom and George weren’t very happy about Dahlia and me moving, but when they realized I was only one town over, they relaxed.
I needed a neighbor who wasn’t always asking me how I was going to support a child as a single parent. I wanted to walk into a store and not have people give me those sad looks like they pitied me. And I wanted to be anywhere Meredith was not. That snob wouldn’t dare live in a town called Cattywump Bay. It also helps that Kyle lives in Gulfport which is only thirty minutes away.
“Shut the fuck up right now. Dolly’s teacher is the delicious millionaire Malik Dare? The very single Malik Dare? The Malik Dare who rides a motorcycle and has the two yummiest brothers?”
“I’m assuming yes, although I don’t know him beyond being a teacher.”
“Who are you right now? How do you not know who Malik Dare is? You’d have to be Helen Keller to not know who he is and even then, I bet she’d smell that man candy from a mile away.”
“In case you forgot, I’ve only lived in Cattywump a short time and before that, I was married to a cheating bastard. Remember?” I close out of the window which is a menagerie of photos dedicated to the man in question, and pull up the calendar I’ve been working on for my client.
“Oh I remember. I wish I could forget. That…” she mumbles out a string of words I can’t quite make out, but I can fill in the blank. “Enough of that pendejo. Tell me more about Mr. Dare. I’d love to be his student. I bet he can teach memanythings. Maybe he’d give me some extra credit. Get it.”
With a roll of my eyes I tell her, “Yeah, Ky. I get it. Ialwaysget it.”
My eyes scan the appointments that need to be set and meetings transcribed this week. I’m a virtual assistant for a handful of executives and I run their calendars and other admin stuff. It’s a great job because it allows me to work from home and be here for Dahlia, along with flexible hours. It was basically what I was doing at my old job except for the telecommute position, and I’m thankful that Kyle sent some people my way. Just another reason why I can’t live without this girl.
