Matt knew that her dating was part of her self-improvement project, but what was she looking to get out of meeting all of these random people? Was she just gathering more data? Was she looking for her soul mate? Was she just in it purely for the experience of meeting people?
He seriously doubted that it was the latter because she never seemed that thrilled whenever the subject of a date came up. But he couldn’t know for sure unless he asked her about. Well, maybe that’s what he should do.
Chapter Twelve
Amy walked into her classroom before the students were set to arrive, filled with excitement. Today was the day—Student Service Day. Although she knew the students weren't really looking forward to it—okay, they were flat-out dreading it—she was actually pretty excited for the whole thing. She didn't kid herself. She knew that the draw was the opportunity to spend the entire day with Matt.
Nerves were pinging and ponging around inside of her like the little silver ball in a pinball machine. A whole day with him. She took a deep breath and glanced up, checking the time. She was glad she would have a few minutes to calm her nerves before they were scheduled to meet up with their classes.
Just as she was finishing that thought, she heard the creak of the classroom door opening and looked up. Her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat.
Matt.
Her eyes darted up to the clock. Yep, it still read seven forty-five, and they weren’t supposed to meet until eight.
“What are you doing in here? Where’s your class?”
He leaned over, setting down a cooler he was carrying. “I told them yesterday to meet up in here. I left a note on the door for anyone who forgets. I figured it would be easier that way. Also,” he added with a playful grin, “I just couldn't see myself walking them in a line through the halls like second graders on their way to a field trip.”
Amy smiled back. When he put it like that, she really couldn't see him doing that either.
“Well, great,” she said, maybe a tad too enthusiastically. “I think that we just need to take about five minutes to take roll when they come in and then we can head out to paint the garden sheds. At least we got a task a lot of our students can see the value in, being 4-H kids.”
Matt grinned. “I know. I think we might grab the distinction of being the first group out on the field.”
Amy grinned back, “If we're lucky.”
“So you don’t think you’ll be too tired to go on that date tonight after working all day in the hot sun, do ya?” There was a twinkle in Matt’s eye, and Amy couldn’t tell if he was just joking around or flirting with her.
“I think I’ll be all right,” she said, trying to play it cool in case he was in fact flirting.
“You will, huh?” he asked as he leaned down and opened the cooler, grabbing two water bottles. He handed one to her and opened the other taking a swig.
“Yep, just fine,” she answered confidently as she opened her bottle of water and brought it to her mouth. The second she swallowed, she knew something was wrong. She felt it go down the wrong pipe as she began spurting and choking. Water was coming out of her nose, and she bent over, trying to breathe and cover her face at the same time.
Matt began patting her back and telling her to put her arms over her head. She definitely didn’t want to do that with water coming out of her nose.
“Oh my god,” she heard Ashley shriek. “Ms. Maguire’s choking!”
Great. Just what she needed. An audience.
She heard several other students coming in, offering their personal comments about her current condition, which, no matter what she did, did not seem to be getting any better. In fact, it really felt like it was getting worse. She hadn’t taken that big of a drink, but somehow she just kept sucking water down the wrong pipe every time she tried to take in a breath.
Amy heard Matt’s voice taking charge of the situation just as she was starting to feel panic well up inside of her. “Okay, give her some room.”
She felt his arm wrap around her waist as he turned her away from the growing crowd of students.
“She’s fine. Why don’t you guys head down to my class and make sure that my students know to meet us here.” His authoritative tone must have worked because through her coughing fits she heard the students shuffling out of the room. She did hear a few of the male students suggesting that Matt give her mouth-to-mouth before the door closed. She would have found it amusing if she could breathe.
Matt ushered her over to the chair behind her desk and she sat down. Amy assumed that, because of her noncompliance with his hands-over-the-head request, he was trying another tactic. He rubbed her back slowly, calmly repeating, “Just try to relax. Close your eyes and breathe through your nose and relax.”
Amy did as he’d suggested, closing her eyes and attempting to only breathe in through her nose. She concentrated on the soothing sound of Matt’s voice and the comforting feel of his touch as he moved his hand up and down her back. After a few moments, her coughing had subsided and she was, for all intents and purposes, breathing normally.
She could feel Matt’s breath against her cheek as he spoke softly to her. She wanted so badly to just lean into it. To feel his lips pressed against her skin. But she managed to refrain from giving in to her desire and taking advantage of his helping her by stealing a kiss. She did the right thing and opened her eyes instead. “I’m feeling better. Thanks.”
“Are you sure?” He smiled but didn’t move away from her.
She tried to speak, but it seemed Matt’s nearness, his eyes, his smile, his smell, all transpired to cause her to go mute. So she nodded her response.
“Are you sure”—he tilted his head slightly with a sexy gleam in his eye—“that you don’t need mouth-to-mouth?”
Yes, please.
Before she had a chance to answer, the door flung open. The room filled quickly with not only her students but his as well. Matt stood gracefully and started taking roll, allowing Amy a few desperately needed moments to compose herself.
Would he have actually kissed her if the students hadn’t come in? If he did, what would that have meant? Did he actually like her? If he did like her, what did that mean?
“Ms. Maguire, are you feeling better?” Candice asked, walking up to the desk, snapping Amy out of the twenty questions that were floating around in her mind.
“Yes, I am.” Amy’s voice was a little hoarse, her eyes were watering, and she felt a tad lightheaded. But her cheek still tingled from the warmth of Matt’s breath, she could still feel the path Matt’s hands had traveled on her back, and if she inhaled, she could smell his unique scent of Irish Spring, fresh laundry, olive oil, and man. And he’d just offered to give her mouth-to-mouth.
Yep. She was doing just fine.
--- ~ ---
Matt rolled the paint brush up and down as Amy worked beside him. He kept stealing looks at her when the students weren’t around. Okay, maybe even when the students were around.
She was just so adorable when she concentrated on her task at hand, which right now was painting. Her movements were calculated and exact. He couldn’t help himself.
Especially when she kept bending over in her tight blue jeans that were faded in just the right spots, highlighting her round, firm backside. Not that she had to be showcasing that particular part of her anatomy for Matt’s attention to be drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She was wearing a navy blue hoodie sweatshirt with her wavy hair pulled up in a ponytail. When she would finish a section, she would study it from all angles, giving him perfect visual access to the sleek, sexy lines of her neck. God, he wanted to kiss—and lick and suck—that neck.
He’d been trying to keep his thoughts in the PG-13 range since kids were around, but he wasn’t having too much success. It did help that Amy was so easy to talk to that he would sometimes get distracted from lusting after her just being engaged in their conversation.
And it wasn’t just her sexiness, her ability, or her conversation
skills that had impressed him today. It was also her work ethic and the amazing connection she had with the kids.
Before they’d gotten started, she’d given the kids a little pep talk about giving back and what being a part of the community meant to her. She’d also talked about how there was no point in doing a job at all unless you do it right. Basically she’d told them not to half-ass it.
Matt had always lived his life that way. If he did something, he went all in. Gave it everything he had. One hundred percent. Which was exactly the reason that he knew, no matter how attracted he was to Amy, no matter how much he enjoyed her company, no matter how much he wanted to taste her skin beneath his lips, there was just no way he could give in to it. He didn’t have all of himself to offer her, and she deserved to be with someone who could give her everything.
His behavior wasn’t representative of that sentiment though. He knew he wasn’t doing himself any favors by flirting with her all the time either. Half the things he said to her even surprised himself. If he was gauging her reactions correctly, she was usually pretty shocked as well. Just like stealing looks at her all day, he just couldn’t seem to help himself.
“Hey, Ms. Maguire,” Tyler, a kid that, in Matt’s humble opinion, was too cocky for his own good, called out as he strode confidently around the corner.
“Yes.” Amy turned and lifted the back of her hand to her forehead, brushing a strand of hair out of her eye as she looked up at the tall, lanky kid who stood a good six feet.
“I heard that you choked this morning and I just wanted to check and see if you needed me to do mouth-to-mouth.” Tyler winked at Amy.
Matt heard snickers and a few “oohs” and “damns” coming from where Tyler had just come from. Matt assumed Tyler’s friends, who Matt mentally referred to as the peanut gallery, were waiting in the wings. He was about to step in and tell Tyler that he and his friends needed to get back to work when Amy took care of it herself.
“I’m good, thanks. But even if I wasn’t, I just don’t think I would be comfortable getting mouth-to-mouth from someone whose diaper I used to change when I babysat them. Thanks though, Tyler. That was sweet of you to offer,” she smiled brightly as she turned back to her work.
“Okay, Ms. M, but if you change your mind, just let me know.” Tyler didn’t sound quite as confident that time as he turned and went back the way he’d come.
The second he was out of sight, Matt heard his friends talking.
“Dude, Ms. M. saw you in diapers.”
“I can’t believe you actually said that.”
“Damn, I’m glad Ms. Maguire didn’t change my diapers.”
And several other comments along those lines.
Amy chuckled as she shook her head and sighed. “Ah, boys.”
“I just can’t believe that kid stole my line,” Matt teased.
Amy’s head fell back as she burst out laughing. Matt thought it just might have been the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. Making Amy laugh was quickly topping his list of favorite activities.
A deep voice boomed from behind them. “What’s so funny?”
Amy jumped, almost knocking over her paint can, and Matt turned to see who was sneaking up on them, sounding so ominous.
“Eric!” Amy’s hand flew to her chest. “You scared me. What are you doing here?”
Amy’s brother stood perfectly still in his policeman’s uniform, feet shoulder-width apart, hands behind his back. It was a casual stance, but Eric’s demeanor was not exactly what Matt would read as casual. He couldn’t see Eric’s eyes behind his aviator sunglasses, but he was pretty sure that he was assessing the situation, trying to size up exactly what was going on between Matt and Amy.
Good luck, Matt thought, considering even he had no idea.
After several beats of silence, Eric answered. “I stopped by to check on Student Service Day. See how things were coming.”
“Oh.” Amy looked around, not making eye contact with Matt, seeming a little nervous. “It’s good. Everything’s going great.”
“Yeah. Our group is actually ahead of schedule, thanks to Amy’s careful planning and distribution of tasks,” Matt offered proudly. Amy had really set them all up to succeed today, and he thought her brother should made aware of that fact.
Eric nodded but didn’t do much else.
“Do you want a water?” Amy wiped off her hands and reached for the cooler.
“No, I’m good.” Eric cleared his throat.
They all just stood there silently. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Part of him thought that he should offer to give them some privacy, but another part of him didn’t want to abandon Amy with her brooding brother.
Amy blew out a breath and stated brightly, “Okay, well, if we are going to stay ahead of schedule, we should be getting back to work.”
Amy turned as Eric gruffly said, “Also, I’m sorry for dinner last night. It’s none of my business who you date. If you want to meet guys onli—”
Amy’s eyes briefly met Matt’s and he saw a flash of horror in them as she spun back around, interrupting her brother’s apology by holding up her hands to stop him. “It’s fine.”
“Lily thought you might be upse—” he continued.
“Eric.” Amy’s voice was sounding a lot stronger than it had since her brother arrived a few moments before. “I said it’s fine. I have to get back to work. If you want, we can talk about this later.”
Eric’s expression and stance remained unchanged. “All right,” he said shortly, nodded, and walked away.
When he was out of earshot, Amy picked up her paintbrush once again. “Sorry about that. He’s usually really friendly.”
“It’s fine. He’s just being protective of you.” Matt had sisters. He got it.
“Yeah, I guess.” Amy didn’t sound convinced.
“He is. I promise.” Then, in an attempt to prove it to her, Matt broke guy code by admitting, “He even asked me to keep an eye on you when I met him at basketball and he found out I worked with you.”
Amy’s mouth dropped open. “He did!” She looked equal parts horrified and furious.
See? Matt thought. This is why you never break guy code.
“Yeah, but it’s really not a big deal. I would probably do the same thing for my sisters. Good brothers are overprotective brothers. At least in my book.” Matt hoped his words would help diffuse whatever bomb he’d just set off.
Amy let out a forced laugh. “Well, then Eric should be nominated for brother of the year.” She smiled as she dipped her roller back into the paint tray and began working on her wall again.
Matt couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. No yelling, no crying, no…anything. Amy had just let it go. She’d been upset and he thought maybe even embarrassed and she’d just dropped it and continued on with her work with a good attitude to boot.
Is she for real?
Chapter Thirteen
Amy sat across the table from her most recent internet date experiment—a balding man in his mid-forties named Jim who had yet to stop fiddling with his smartphone. Amy wondered if he were looking up proper date etiquette so that he could quickly learn about it. Honestly, that would be the only excuse she might think was viable.
The worst part was, he didn't seem to show any signs of stopping the behavior or of slowing down the conversation because of it. He kept asking her questions and then completely ignoring her answers, even repeating some of the questions only a few minutes later.
Amy decided that she had taken just about all she was going to take. She remembered Nikki's advice to her on the phone when they had initially discussed Amy's foray into dating. Nikki had said, in no uncertain terms, that if Amy felt her time was being wasted, she should have none of it. She should just get out of there.
Amy did not feel quite ready to stand up and leave in the middle of a date yet. She did not know if she would ever get to that point. She simply had a very different personality than her sister. Howe
ver, she did decide that she was going to channel some of Nikki's energy to at least stand up for herself.
When Jim, without glancing up, asked for the third time, “So what is it that you do for a living?” Amy decided that she had had enough. She was going to put her foot down.
She knew that explaining her position—that she did not want to have a conversation with the top of his balding head anymore, thank you very much—was not going to do much good. He wouldn't even hear the words that were coming out of her mouth. And if his track record so far tonight was any indication, he would probably ask her what she did for a living again two questions down the line in this little mini-interrogation.
Rather, she took a different tactic. She knew that she had facilitated the establishment of a destructive pattern between them—he asked a question in a distracted manner while his eyes stayed on his phone, she answered the question, he ignored her answer, and after a few seconds he would ask another question while still in his equally distracted state. In order to get his attention out of that, she was going to need to create a pattern interrupt. She was going to have to do something that disrupted the cadence of their—so-called—conversation.
So after his distracted question about what she did for a living, Amy simply sat there quietly, waiting for him to take notice. It took far longer than it should have. When he did seem to realize that she had not answered, rather than looking up and seeing what was wrong, he merely repeated the question in a somewhat tense tone of voice, though it should be noted that his tone was still equally as distracted.
Again, Amy made the decision to sit quietly. At this point, she had determined within herself that this was going to be her continued strategy until he actually raised his gaze up from the stinkin’ phone and made eye contact with her. Not because she really cared whether or not she had his undivided attention. She was just tired of being overlooked.
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