Page 17 of All It Takes

Tiffany jumped in. “Of course. We have all the paperwork to do that.”

The meeting was fairly routine, I suppose. I’d never been to a school meeting, and I felt like I was floundering. When Ross was at the house, I thought I was doing okay with the parenting thing. He would eat just about anything, with cereal and pizza as his top choices. Conveniently, I loved both as well. We also enjoyed some of the same video games. He mostly played sports, and liked racing video games, which was handy because I felt like those were in the safe category for kids.

At the end of the meeting, Ms. Dana escorted us out to the main hallway. She planned to walk Ross to his homeroom and let us know we were free to go. Among other details, we had sorted out a schedule for pick up and drop off at school and planned for Ross to start taking the bus after the first few weeks.

Apparently, we both had to go to the bathroom because Tiffany asked, “Can you tell me where the restroom is?” just as I chimed in, “Restroom?”

Ms. Dana nodded. “Down the hallway and around the corner.” She gestured to the side. “It’s right back there. You can go out the back door from there into the parking area. It’s an exit-only door.”

Without speaking about it, we waited together while Ross walked down the hallway with her. Tiffany caught my eyes when they disappeared around a corner, mouthing, “He’ll be fine.”

As we turned and walked toward the restroom, I was hyperaware of Tiffany’s presence at my side. I had replayed our kiss in my thoughts more times than I would admit to anyone, even myself.

I gestured to the doorway. “You first.” She stepped into the bathroom. We were tucked out of sight in this short hallway with only the door to the bathroom visible.

A moment later at the sound of the door opening, I glanced over to see Tiffany stepping out. She stood in front of me, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder. Her tongue swiped across her bottom lip. I had to take a quick breath. Fuck.Thiswoman. She fiddled with the strap of her purse, her hand curling tightly around it.

“So, uh, do we want to have dinner together with Ross?” she asked. “I called the therapist Eileen recommended, and she said it would be good if we came together for his first appointment. Would you do that?”

“Of course. Just tell me when. Ross loves pizza.” My words felt out of place for a second, but I added quickly, “For dinner, we could do that. Maybe tonight?”

She nodded. “Why don’t you guys come to my place? We can get takeout. It’s an apartment downtown. I’ve got his room all set.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We stood there, and the silence started to feel awkward. “I need to go to the bathroom, if you don’t mind,” I finally said.

“Okay, I’ll text you.”

When I stepped into the bathroom, I closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. I had to pee, and I had a hard-on.Thatwasn’t the most comfortable thing. I was relieved I had to force myself through it because my damn erection went away.

I washed my hands quickly and stepped out, surprised to see Tiffany still standing there.

“We forgot to say what time.” She paused, sliding her tongue over her bottom lip again. I was starting to wonder if she was trying to torture me. “And I needed to say something.” Her words came out in a rush.

“Uh, sure. What’s that?”

She took a deep breath, pushing her shoulders back. I swear to God, it felt like we had a physical force between us. When her teeth sank into her bottom lip, my balls tightened.

She didn’t say anything for several beats, and I watched as a flush crested on her cheeks. Before I knew it, we were stepping closer together. She opened her mouth to say something. I felt her fingers curl into my shirt when she said, “Fuck it.”

She arched up as I bent low to meet her. When our lips collided, it felt as if lightning flashed around us. Her mouth was soft and lush, and I savored the way she instantly opened for me.

Her tongue darted out to tease against mine. I wasn’t thinking when I nudged her back, pressing my palms against the wall on either side of her as if it was too much to let my hands touch her. As it was, our bodies were plastered together. My arousal was cradled against her low belly. Our kiss went on and on and on.

We broke apart swiftly at the sound of footsteps, staring at each other. I moved back and stepped to the door that led outside. “Come on.”

We walked outside just as someone came around the corner in the hallway. The icy-cold air struck my cheeks. We walked briskly toward our vehicles. When we stopped behind them, I commented, “You parked beside me.”

She nodded, staring up at me. “We can’t kiss like that,” she blurted.

I studied her. Something like fear and a deep worry flickered in her gaze. Protectiveness rose swiftly inside. I wanted to encircle her, to hold her close and tell her everything would be okay when I didn’t even know what exactly was wrong.

“Tiffany…” I began.

She held a palm up. “I can’t talk about this. I have to go.”

Before I could say anything else, she dashed past me, climbed into her car, and started it. She rolled down her window as she was backing out and called out, “I’ll text you what time. See you tonight.”

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