Page 18 of Scoop Me Up
With another sigh, I put the leftover ice cream in the freezer and followed him into my room to watch him rifle through my closet. “I hadn’t decided yet. What are your thoughts?”
“Go casual. It’s not a date. Not this time, anyway.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. Eventually, he pulled out a fitted black tank top and black jeans that were artfully ripped at the knees. “Here. Casual but hot.”
“I don’t know…” I moved to stand beside him and pulled out a polo shirt. “This and blue jeans?”
“Again, you cannotbe serious.”
“It’s just a friendly dinner with a student’s parent. Like you said, it’snota date. I don’t want to look unprofessional.”
“A parent who happens to be a new friend. Don’t go there looking all stuffy. It’ll clearly say that it’s just a business dinner, nothing more.” He shoved the tank top and jeans into my arms. “Trust me. You’ll thank me later.”
“Why am I friends with you?” I asked, no malice in my voice.
“Because you love me,” he chirped. “And you know I’m right.”
I rolled my eyes once again, shaking my head. “I’ll trust you, but if you’re wrong, I’m never forgiving you.”
“Fine. I have faith.”
Once Cooper had left for the night, I made my way to the kitchen to mix the batch of ice cream I planned to take. I’d settled on the plain vanilla and the s’mores flavor, but there was absolutely no way in hell I was going to tell Gabe the name was S’more Than Friends. Not unless I wanted to melt into an embarrassed puddle and die on the spot—which felt more and more likely anyway, given my raging crush on Gabe and how obvious—and hilarious—Cooper found the situation to be.
The next day, I showered and put on the clothes Cooper had picked out for me, butterflies assailing me in the pit of my stomach. I even slid on my black and white checkerboard sneakers, which I thought complemented the rest of the outfit pretty well. Finally, I gathered my ice cream offering, tucked it into a bag with some freezer packs, and headed out.
The drive wasn’t far and the evening weather was beautiful, so I rolled the car window down and listened to a little music on the drive. By the time I pulled into the driveway, the butterflies in my stomach had calmed down and I felt ready to face Gabe. Ellie would be there too, of course, but having dinner with a student felt way less stressful. Students, I knew how to handle. Students, I was used to. Hot single dads who I had relentless crushes on? Less so.
Before getting out of the car, I peeked in the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair, straightening it a little. When I was satisfied, I grabbed the bag and headed up the front walk to knock on the door.
It only took a moment before I heard tiny footsteps thundering through the house. The door flung open and behind it stood Ellie.
“Hi, Mix!”
“Hey, El. How’s it going?”
She shrugged. “Fine. Daddy’s in there.” Ellie pointed down the hallway and then ran away, into the adjoining living room, and plopped herself in front of the television, which was showing a cartoon I knew was popular with my students these days.
I stood awkwardly in the hallway for a moment, trying to decide what to do next, when I heard Gabe’s voice.
“El? Was that—oh, God.”
Chapter 8
Gabe
I froze as my gaze met Sam’s. All I had on was a towel, wrapped firmly around my waist, water dripping from my hair onto my shoulders. I burned with the heat of embarrassment, feeling it crawling up my neck and face, warming my ears. For a moment, all either of us could do was stare at the other.
After a second, Sam spun to face the door. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” they called over their shoulder.
“I’ll be right back,” I blurted before retreating into my bedroom, nearly slamming the door shut in my hurry.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my back to the door, my heart racing, and took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. As my heart rate returned to normal, I took a few more shaky breaths. Sam had seen me nearly naked and all I could do was hope they’d pretend it never happened. My gut twisted when I thought about the way our gazes had met, a strange sensation creeping in. I shook my head to shake off the feeling.
When I felt a little steadier, I straightened up and locked the bedroom door behind me before heading back to my bathroom to finish getting ready. Once I was clean and dry, I pulled ona pair of jeans and a fitted V-neck, taking one last glance in the mirror before unlocking the door and emerging from my bedroom.
“Ellie? Sam?”
“In here,” Sam’s voice called.
I found the two of them sitting in the living room, Ellie playing on the floor with a pair of dolls. Sam jumped to their feet, tucking their phone away.
