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Babe.
My thoughts did a complete one-eighty.
“What?” He narrowed his eyes with a soft smile.
I shook my head, biting back my own grin. He did notwant to know the sudden thoughts I was having about him as we were about to step foot inside his place of worship. All because of that one new word:Babe.(He was definitely,definitelydragging me out of hell someday.)
His fingers slipped through mine as he led me through the front doors, and a self-consciousness I wasn’t familiar with forced me to look down at my outfit again—black skirt, black tights, black boots, white shirt tucked in. It was the best I had to offer.
They could take me or leave me, I guess.
We walked past a mostly full auditorium that smelled like unscented candles and dried rain, though there were still people mingling around in the halls. He smiled at some of them and waved to a few others before leading me around the corner and down another hallway. Away from the room that clearly held service.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He smiled, and there was something about his tone that immediately made me suspicious.
I narrowed my eyes in response. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing.” He bit down on his bottom lip, attempting to hide his growing smile.
My suspicion rose even further. And then we landed at a windowed room full of screaming kids and bright colors painted all over the place. He opened the double doors and tugged me inside, noise engulfing us.
Kids wereloud.
“This is where we’ll be today,” he threw over his shoulder.
I moved closer to him as we walked through the chaos, whispering into his ear. “You’re totally hiding me in here, aren’t you,” I joked.
He jerked to a stop mid-step, and I bumped into the back of him. That little crease between his brows was back again. “I would never—”
“I was just kidding,” I interrupted him. “I know you wouldn’t.” I mean, he’d brought me here in the first place and didn’t even flinch at my outfit. So, I was one-hundred percent kidding. Even if my insecurities were screaming that maybe heshouldbe hiding me.
The crease between his brows smoothed out. “Good.” He smiled, his hand tightening around mine before letting go. “This is where I spend all of my Sunday mornings,” he added, and his smile shifted into something a little shier.
Full honesty, I wanted to kiss him in front of fifty screaming kids.
I cleared my throat and looked over the room. “Where do we even—what do wedo?” My eyes widened.
He laughed. “Keep them happy and entertained. Stop them from eating markers or base diving off the bookshelf. Basically, we keep them from trying to kill themselves every five seconds.”
My mouth fell open, and he laughed even harder.
“You’ll do fine.” He smirked playfully. There were three other daycare aides that he introduced me to, and then he kind of just… left me to it.
Basically, he threw me into shark-infested waters without a life raft.Thanks, Neil.
I looked over the sea of children, finding one in the corner of the room that looked somewhat harmless. Making my way over to him, I sat down in a tiny plastic seat that was way too small for me.
“Hi there,” I said. The kid was currently coloring at the table between us all by himself. “Mind if I join you?”
He glanced up at me, sizing me up. Without saying a word, he slid a coloring book toward me. I took the in with the miniature mafioso and flipped through the pages of the coloring book, landing on a page of butterflies. We colored in silence, me and the cute little wordlesscapo.
Well,wecolored in silence, while being drowned out by the sounds of screaming and crying and excited peals of laughter all over the room. There was a high level of chaos surrounding us that I was trying my best to stay invisible from.
It worked. For a while.
“Excuse me,” a small, high-pitched voice said, its tiny owner tugging at my skirt.