Page 16 of Scoop Me Up
Sam: He’s straight, remember?
Cooper: Sure he is.
I snorted and shook my head. Once Cooper got an idea in his mind, he was like a dog with a bone—relentless.
Sam: Be serious.
Cooper: I am. I saw the way he looked at you tonight. And that hug. It’s only a matter of time.
Sam: Whatever you say.
With that, I shut my phone off and went to bed.
The next day was a school day and I woke up bright and early and headed to work. The kids were great and Ellie was her usual cheerful self, working hard to read and talk about the stories she was reading. When Gabe picked her up after school, he lingered even after Ellie packed her things. As I worked to dismiss students to their parents, I couldn’t help myself. I kept glancing Gabe’s way, trying to determine if Cooper was right, trying to tell if Gabe was looking at me in some kind of way besides simple acquaintances.
When all the students were dismissed, only Ellie and Gabe remained. He nodded at me awkwardly and gave me a soft smile. “How’s it going?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled, clearing the day’s stressors away. “I’m good. Especially now that the dismissal is done.”
“Long day?”
I shook my head. “Not really. Dismissal is my least favorite part of the day. It’s always so hectic—parents trying to get their kids out as quickly as possible, having to keep track of who’s here and who’s been picked up, reminding them to take their lunch boxes and backpacks and sometimes even their shoes get left behind.”
He laughed and his smile widened, one eyebrow rising. “Kids leave their shoes behind?”
“It happens more than you’d think.” I paused for a moment, waiting to see what Gabe would say. When he didn’t speak, I cleared my throat. “Is there—I mean, did you need something else, or did you just want to say hi?” The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how rude I sounded and hurried to explain myself. “I mean, it’s fine if you’re here just to say hi. I don’t want to rush you off. But if you need something else, or have a question about Ellie’s work or something, I don’t want to ignore that.” Another moment passed. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”
Gabe shook his head. “You’re fine. I wanted to stick around to see when you want to collect on that bet.”
I frowned again. “The bet? You mean from last night?”
“Yeah. From last night.”
“You really want to cook me dinner?”
“I don’t go back on a bet,” he said with a shrug. “I promised I would. I’m not going to take it back just because I won.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay. Fine. Dinner. That sounds great. I don’t have any commitments in the evenings. No partner to come home to, no pets, it’s just me. So it can be anytime.”
Gabe rubbed the back of his neck, his ears turning a slight shade of pink. “Okay, then. How about Saturday? That’ll give me time to go shopping and plan something.”
“Sure. Saturday it is.”
“Do you have any allergies? Anything I should be aware of?”
“Nope. I’m easy.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized how they could have been interpreted, and I felt my own ears burn with a blush.
Gabe, mercifully, did not let on that he’d heard me say anything out of the ordinary. “Perfect. Hey, here’s my number.” He grabbed a sticky note from my desk and jotted down a phone number. “Text me later, so we have each other’s numbers just in case something happens.”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks.”
A few moments later, Gabe and Ellie were on their way, and I was left behind to finish tidying the classroom and head home, my head swimming with thoughts of having dinner with Gabe and Ellie the following weekend.
Friday evening, I found myself creating and testing very small batches of potential ice cream flavors, with Cooper in my kitchen, claiming to help.
“You sure I’m not getting ahead of myself?”
Cooper scoffed and took a seat at the breakfast bar, shaking his head and putting a notepad and pen in front of him. “No way. The foundation of a successful ice cream shop is having amazing flavors. Besides, you’re meeting with the real estate agent Sunday, right? Whynotstart the research and development phase?”
