Page 14 of Bad Teacher

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“Mommy, can I have some cotton candy?” Amanda asked, pointing at the endless line in the busy carnival.

“Sure, sweetie,” Violet said, keeping her fourteen-month-old son Trevor attached to her hip. If she let him walk, he’d take off and run to the Ferris wheel. She knew it because she’d raced after him twice already.

“Come on,” Amanda said, pulling her hand.

She took the last spot in the line, wondering if she’d still have teeth by the time they reached the start. But Amanda didn’t care, jumping up and down on a pre-sugar rush, and blowing raspberries to make her little brother laugh.

Violet kissed the top of Trevor’s head. It’d taken her a long journey to be here today, healthy and mentally stable, with her children—and she wouldn’t take any of it for granted.

“Dad, is that Ms. Violet?” said a voice she’d come to recognize.

She turned her head in the direction of the voice to find Marcelle tugging her father’s arm. A shot of awareness spilled in her veins. She squared her shoulders, and the easy feeling from a moment earlier dissipated. Each step they took in her direction, her heart pounded harder. That afternoon, she’d gone to teach Marcelle after school, but Theo had remained in his office, only saying hi but not bothering to come out to talk to her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. The previous night, she’d had sex with him—and now she faced him for the first time, with three minors around. Welcome to adult dating. Well, not real dating.

“Oh, hi,” Violet said when they were within a few feet from her. “Amanda and Trevor, say hi to my student Marcelle and her father, Mr. Theo.”

Amanda smiled. “Hi. Do you want cotton candy too?”

“Sure,” Marcelle said. “Is that your brother? He’s so cute.”

“Yeah…”

Amanda quickly took to Marcelle, as she loved older children. Violet avoided looking at Theo with all that she had, but at some point, her gaze strayed to his, and when their eyes met, something sucked the air out of her lungs.

Dressed in casual jeans and a white shirt, he couldn’t look more delicious. Specks of gold flecked in his brown irises, making his expressive eyes even more complex and compelling. Suddenly, her throat became dry and thick.

“Hey,” she said, foolishly lifting her hand in a pathetic wave as if he were much farther away. Being near him in public sent a shot of awareness through her. The tips of her fingers trembled, and she managed to jam her hand in her pocket before he noticed.

“Hi. You have cute kids,” he said with a neutral smile.

“Thanks. I only get half the credit.” Her ex was good looking. Hella good looking. Different than Theo, though. Theo’s features weren’t classically handsome, he had a rugged vibe going on, yet the end result was so fucking sexy. Damian she could get away from—she had. But Theo… every time she saw him, she had to wrestle her self-control.

“May I hold him?” Marcelle asked, pointing at Trevor.

Her son wiggled in her arm. “Of course. He may try to escape though, he’s an escape artist.”

“Mom, put him on the ground and show her,” Amanda asked, tugging at her free arm.

She glanced at the line, still monstrously long, and back at her daughter. Amanda usually made a big deal whenever she had to use separate stalls in public restrooms. Violet had taken her to family therapy, but her daughter still didn’t trust her much out of her sight. Frustration clawed her throat. Shit. “I can’t because I need to be in the line and—”

“We’ll catch him if he goes too far,” Marcelle offered.

Violet gently put her son on the ground and he squealed, happy to walk wobbly and take everything in. Amanda held his hand, offering him balance, but he waved her off and continued to walk in the direction of the spinning teacups.

“Oh cool. Can we go?” Marcelle asked her father. “Please?”

“If Ms. Violet says yes,” Theo said.

Amanda shifted her weight from one foot to another, looking at the ground but still holding her brother. Violet rubbed her forehead. This would be a good moment to show her daughter she didn’t disappear every time Amanda left her for five minutes—like she’d been trying to teach her for the past months. “Mom,” Amanda called her.

Icy apprehension slid down her spine. Violet leaned down, expecting her daughter to whisper in her ears she wouldn’t go through with it, or needed her to go with them. “Honey, you can do this. I’ll be right here. I promise.”

Amanda nodded slowly, like registering her mother’s words. “Okay.”

“Good.” She reached for her wallet to grab some tickets, but Theo lifted his hand in denial and helped usher the three children to the attraction.

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