“Me too.”
He pushed at a light dusting of snow with his boot. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Lots of things. So many things. Super busy with my guests.”
He grinned. Hands still in his pockets he leaned toward her. Becky swallowed her, Come in - stay - never leave! just as he kissed her lightly on the cheek.
He pulled away. “See you soon, Becky.”
twenty-six
Becky spent the rest of the weekend in a Valentine’s haze. Maddy had checked in the two couples who’d arrived at the inn while Becky was dancing with Tank. She’d stayed to make sure they had everything they needed, and based on the message that she’d pinned to the note board in the kitchen, had left not too long before Becky had returned home.
Not surprisingly, no one was up for an early breakfast on Saturday morning. Becky got up around seven, despite having slept very little. She made the coffee and prowled around the kitchen, rechecking her breakfast menu and trying to do anything that would keep her from thinking about Tank.
Pretty much nothing worked. She wiped down the cupboards, reliving their dance over and over in her head, culminating in the kiss that kept her head spinning. She’d never responded to a kiss like that. She shouldn’t have responded to a kiss like that. She couldn’t imagine facing Tank on Monday.
Becky pulled out her ingredients and started breakfast. She had two days to get her head straight. Despite having to facilitate two couples enjoying a romantic weekend getaway, she had to be up for the challenge. By Monday morning, Tank and his kiss would have to find their rightful place in the far recesses of her mind. She could do this.
***
“I’d like to speak to you about the dance on Friday night.”
Tank and Becky exchanged glances as Mrs. Whitestone, the principal, cleared her throat and collected her thoughts.
They hadn’t even had a chance to greet each other before she’d called them to her office. On the way, another teacher caught Tank and started walking with him, so Becky had taken advantage of the opportunity to hustle ahead. She didn’t have much of a plan for the rest of the day.
“I understand that you two were, that you displayed an inappropriate level of affection.”
Becky’s mind spun, reliving for the hundredth time their kiss in the cafeteria. The memory resurfaced quite happily, jumped and flailed its arms, waiting to be deliberated on, celebrated, even. Not the brush across her lips kiss, of course, the real kiss after everyone had left. How could the principal possibly know about that?
Luckily, Tank wasn’t so rattled. “We danced one dance, Ms. Whitestone, the last dance of the night. Everyone was on the floor, even the other chaperones.”
“Well, the dancing is fine to a point. I was told that you were,” she cleared her throat again, “that you were dancing and kissing. It made some of the students uncomfortable.”
“You’re kidding.”
“The job of a chaperone ...”
“No, we get the job of a chaperone.”
Becky looked up in surprise, actually making eye contact when Tank interrupted the woman. He shook his head, then addressed the principal.
“We spent the entire evening - gave up our free time - to attend the dance, to monitor the students and make sure everyone behaved.”
“Well, yes, and we do appreciate that.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Chaperones shouldn’t be kissing. It’s unprofessional.”
Becky was dumbfounded. Their lips had hardly touched while the kids were there. She could sense Tank’s frustration, and contemplated what she could say to diffuse the situation.
Tank abruptly changed tactics. “I’m sorry, Ms. Whitestone, it was all me. I didn’t give Ms. Jacobs much warning, and frankly, I didn’t give her much choice.”
Tank being charming? Becky closed her mouth and glanced at the principal. Ms. Whitestone colored slightly and ran a hand through her hair.
“Well, it’s not for me to dictate relationships between faculty members here ...”
“Makes sense,” Tank interjected.
“But you should know that we generally frown upon romantic involvement,” she droned on, as though Tank hadn’t interrupted. “In such cases as it develops, we ask teachers to keep their private affairs discreet. In your circumstance, it’s especially complicated because your class subject material is so ... delicate.”
Tank raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. Becky held on to her armrests.
***
“I can’t believe you talked to her like that.”
“I’m just tired of people like her making the rules. She treated us like children, yet couldn’t even say the word ‘sex.’ ”
They were navigating through the almost empty halls, late for their own class.
“Stop saying that word!” Becky hissed.
“Sex, sex, sex.”
Becky walked to the other side of the hall and Tank followed, continuing their conversation like Becky hadn’t just tried to escape him. “People like her make me want to go right out and do whatever it is they’re telling me not to.”
This logic sounded vaguely familiar to Becky, but she could hardly encourage him under the circumstances. “Good luck with that.”
He didn’t look down at her, but he did lean into her as they walked. Becky pushed back.
“Get serious. We have a class to teach.”
“Now, there’s authority I can respect.” He grinned and opened the door to their room.
***
“Is it true you got in trouble for PDA?”
They hadn’t even taken attendance, yet. Tank looked at Becky and shook his head, a little grin threatening. She tried to keep her face serious, but it was all very disconcerting. It had been a long time since she’d been embarrassed about a kiss.
Other students began asking what the story was and the room started buzzing. Tank dropped a large text book on the desk. The room became silent.
“We didn’t get into trouble,” Tank announced. “The principal wanted to speak to us about the overwhelming success of this program.” His corny smile belied his words.
“That’s not what I heard.”
“You heard wrong, let’s get started.”
“Are you going to get fired?” This voice had the decency to sound concerned.
Tank sighed and Becky replied. “Nobody’s getting fired. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I heard you were making out on the dance floor.”
Tank’s head shot up, and the class got very quiet again. He looked around the room until everyone felt good and uncomfortable. “We danced one dance. We kissed once.”
Twice, Becky amended to herself. Three times, she recalled, starting to blush. She looked down and straightened the hem of her sweater, glad that Tank was handling this exchange.
“But it was so romantic!”
Tank threw up his hands, leaving Becky to deal with the three dreamy-eyed girls in the front row.
***
“Well, that was interesting,” Becky slumped down on the edge of the desk as the last of the students left the room. “Everybody’s talking about us. I feel like I’m in high school, again. Well, I am in high school again ... but you know what I mean.”
“Is that so bad? Kind of like we’re getting a redo.”
Becky considered this. “Huh. There’s a thought. Did you need a redo?”
Tank shrugged. “High school was all about football for me,” he replied. “I guess I don’t have a lot of regrets on that score. I stayed pretty focused and got where I wanted to go.”
“How did the girls feel about that?”
He grinned. “Couldn’t say. I didn’t get them. They scared me.”
Becky laughed. “I’ll bet you scared them. Were you this big back then?”
“Getting there, but not quite. And I wasn’t as charming.”
“As charming as what?”
Tank leaned across the desk and Becky
pulled back. “Not in school, Mr. Kimball. You know the rules.”
“She was pretty specific about what we couldn’t do in school,” Tank amended.
Becky refused to look at him. She stood and gathered her things. “I never filled you in on my visit with Carrie.”
Tank picked up their coats. “Right. I’ve been meaning to ask. Wanna head down to Grace’s and grab some coffee?”
“Sounds good.”
“If we hang out long enough, we can catch a few of the college basketball games,” Tank replied, distracted from his earlier objective by the idea of watching sports on Grace’s TV.
Becky shook her head. “Yeah, let’s drive separately. Not sure I’m that committed.”
Tank grinned. “Grace is gonna regret her new marketing strategy. I’m never gonna leave the place.”
twenty-seven
“So,” Grace walked up to their table and smiled broadly. “Where have you two been?”
Tank grinned back at his sister. “I was here last weekend.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” she replied, taking a seat next to her brother. She looked back and forth between them, her eyes sparkling. “So fun to see you two together.”
Becky shook her head and fought a smile as she sipped her tea.
“So I heard the dance was exciting ...” Grace continued her monologue.
Tank groaned.
“Sorry, kids. Small town. Not much else to talk about around here, now that the Super Bowl’s over.”
Tank’s phone buzzed and he excused himself to take a call. Grace jumped on the opportunity to grill Becky.
“So seriously, how’s it going?”
Becky couldn’t help a smile at Grace’s determination. “You have to slow down.”
Grace sat back and regarded her friend. “I’m sorry, this is just so exciting! Tank hasn’t had a serious girlfriend in forever.”
“We’re not serious.” Becky sipped her tea again. It really tasted awful. How did Grace drink it?
Grace sighed. “Okay, it’s been forever since Tank’s had a girlfriend. At least one that I know of. He just seems really happy ...” she trailed off, and Becky could feel her friend’s regard.
“What?” She finally looked up. “And seriously, how do you drink this tea? It’s nasty.”
Grace laughed. “Sorry, it might be a little strong. I thought you might like it that way.”
“Yeah, well, I tried to cover it with some cinnamon and whatever else you have in those shakers up there. I think I probably ruined it.” She pushed the cup away.
“I’ll get you some coffee. Gotta keep our customers happy.” Grace stood with a smile. “You okay? I mean, besides the tea?”
Becky had another deflection ready. “Yeah. Tank and I were just talking about one of our students. She’s okay, but just a tough situation.”
“Gotcha.” Grace gave her an appraising look. “Be right back.”
Tank filled the spot his sister left almost immediately. Becky was amazed at how he dwarfed the table in comparison.
“Everything okay?” Becky asked, determined to clear the atmosphere of all relationship talk.
“Yeah, good,” he replied, sitting back and regarding her.
She was beginning to feel like some sort of display at a freak show. The Kimballs and their green eyes could be so intense.
“That was Steve from ESPN. They want me to fly out and talk to them this weekend.”
She perked up at that. “Wow - that’s exciting! You’re going, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I need to hear them out.”
“They’re pretty determined, huh?”
Tank spun his mug, the coffee dancing close to the lip of the cup. Becky waited for the spill.
“Well, I’d be good at it,” he said without sounding arrogant. “And I guess I had a pretty decent fan base, especially following my final injury. They want to capitalize on that while they still can, of course.”
“I never heard how you got injured,” Becky replied tentatively.
Tank continued to focus on the cup. “Concussion. It happened one too many times. Doctors said one more could kill me.” At this he looked up, daring her to feel sorry for him.
“Wow.” She’d always thought he’d broken a bone or had a knee injury, though he never seemed to favor one leg over another. “Feel like I should know that, especially since your sister practically has us married.”
That should make him good and nervous.
Tank glanced behind the counter where Grace was laughing with one of her employees. “She asking for a date?”
“No, she’s pushing for details, though. As relentless as ESPN.”
Tank smiled. “Don’t let her hassle you too much.”
“It’s getting harder to be evasive. She’s so happy with Alex, she wants everyone around her to be ...”
Tank looked back at her with a raised brow.
“Whatever. So what’s the deal with your concussions? Does it limit what you can do?”
Tank visibly switched gears, stopping to think for a moment. “Well, I can’t play football.” He spun his cup again. “Have to avoid contact sports.”
He looked so sad, Becky wasn’t sure how to respond. “That’s tough. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I’ve pretty much made my peace with it. Never thought I’d get to this point.”
Grace approached the table with a mug of hot coffee for Becky. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” Becky smiled, warming her hands on the mug.
“You need a refill?” Grace asked her brother.
“I’m good. Thanks.”
“Okay, well, I’ll just leave you to it,” she replied. “You’re lucky it’s busy.” She grinned at them before walking away.
Becky shook her head. “Another casualty of our fake relationship.”
Tank extended his long legs under the table, caging hers in. Becky couldn’t escape the warm pressure of his calves on hers without making a scene.
“Not so fake anymore.”
“Nothing’s really changed, Tank.”
He increased the pressure a bit. “I kissed you.”
She nodded, avoiding a direct look.
“You kissed me back.”
She pulled her coffee close. “I need more cream.”
“C’mon, Becky. Things have changed.”
She studied her mug. Of course, things had changed. “A kiss doesn’t change a relationship.”
Tank considered her. “Normally, I’d agree. But that was a big deal for us. We’ve come a long, long way.”
Becky’s faced heated at the memory, and it was just a kiss. She was in so much trouble. “Dangerous territory,” she finally replied.
She could feel his eyes on her and finally looked up. He was smiling like a contented cat. “Tank, we can’t mess around with this. There’s too much at stake.”
“You sound like Mrs. Whitestone.”
“Well, she’s right. If we blow this, we’ve got a huge audience waiting for us to make a mistake.”
“So we don’t make any.”
“Tank.” She tried to look at him sternly.
He nudged her under the table. His intense green eyes invited her to forget all of her fears, so she looked down at his mouth.
Big mistake.
“I have to go.” She pushed her chair back and stood.
Tank stood with her.
“Don’t walk me out.” She tried to look threatening.
Tank tried to look innocent. “Just going to my Jeep,” he protested with a grin.
She eyed him warily. “Well, I’m going to get this to go, so you can run along.”
Tank followed her up to the counter, not giving her nearly the space she needed to transfer her drink and add her cream. He chatted with Daphne, who seemed to find it easy to make conversation with anyone who walked in the store. She’d probably practiced a lot on Tank, because they seemed to be getting along well.
Becky fasten
ed the lid on her cup, trying not to let that last thought bother her. Hadn’t she just spent the last five minutes trying to ditch Tank? Wouldn’t it be better if he stayed and flirted with Daphne?
She fixed on her Becky smile as she said her good-byes, heading out the front door with Tank in tow like a very large puppy. They walked down the street to where their cars were parked, and Becky shivered. For some reason she’d left her hat and mittens in her vehicle; not smart on this mid-February day.
“Chilly?” Tank asked, draping his arm around her.
She looked up as he tucked her in close. She was much warmer and much less comfortable. She couldn’t find her disciplinary look or voice. She must have used them up at school.
Tank took her cup from her hand and placed it on the hood of her car.
“Hey, I need that, I’m cold!”
What an invitation.
He pulled her in close and smiled down at her.
“How about if I just kiss you once a day until we get this figured out?” Tank asked, leaning down and touching his lips to her temple.
Becky sighed, chills and warmth spiraling through her. She wanted so badly to stop fighting whatever was happening between them. “Okay, fine. That was it for Monday.”
Tank growled a little, a sound that Becky was beginning to find endearing. It made his chest rumble.
“If I get one kiss, I’m going to make it count.”
Becky sighed. Nobody had ever gotten to her this way. She burrowed her head in his chest. “I’m not ready.”
She felt him laughing more than heard it. He tightened his hold on her. “Okay, I’ll just wait here; relax and plan.”
“Plan?” Her head popped up and he was ready.
“That’s the plan,” he said as he found his target.
Becky smiled, which made for an even more interesting kiss that neither one of them was particularly interested in ending. She finally staggered back.
“That was Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; maybe the whole weekend,” she accused him, trying to catch her breath.
Tank grinned and opened her door for her. She slid into her seat and he handed her the coffee.
Done With Men Forever (Clairmont Series Book 3) Page 23