Page 15 of Scoop Me Up (Love in Maplewood #7)

Sam

I was distracted by thoughts of Gabe all the next day.

I had taken the coward’s way out and gotten up early that morning, leaving the house before he was awake.

I knew I’d need to go home and face him at some point, but I was in absolutely no hurry.

Instead, I texted Cooper and asked him to meet me at Sparky’s after school.

I found Cooper at our usual booth, scrolling on his phone while he waited for me to arrive. The second I approached, he tucked his phone away, giving me a bright smile. Before I could do anything other than slide into the booth, our server approached.

Cooper leaned in their direction. “Hi, Sage,” he said, giving them the same smile he’d given me.

“Hi, Coop. What can I get for you?”

“Slice of maple cream pie, please.”

“Sure thing,” Sage said with a nod and turned to leave, but I called their name. They turned back to me. “Sam.” Their tone was light and teasing.

“Can I get a slice of pie, too?”

“I wasn’t sure you hadn’t had your fill of maple custard from over at Red’s.”

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but honestly, I knew how indefensible it was. “I know. I’m sorry. I was just showing the new guy around, and Red’s was his idea.”

Cooper tilted his head. “Red’s? You ate at Red’s?” When I nodded, he muttered one word. “Traitor.”

I’d warned Gabe that the town took its diner rivalry seriously. Very seriously. “I’m sorry, Sage.”

Without another word, they nodded and turned, heading back to the kitchen, presumably to grab pie. Hopefully two slices.

“So, what’s up?” Cooper asked after Sage left.

“Why do you think something’s going on?”

He shrugged and took a sip of his water. “You’ve had a lot going on in your life these past few days. Can’t I check in?”

“Fair.” I hesitated for a moment, and as I did, Sage approached with plates with slices of pie in each hand. They placed one gently in front of Cooper and practically dropped the second plate in front of me.

“Enjoy,” they said directly to Cooper before leaving again.

“As you were saying?” Coop prompted.

I sighed. “Nothing happened.”

He frowned, brows furrowing. “What do you mean nothing happened? What exactly didn’t happen?” He picked up his fork and dug in on his pie.

I dropped my voice to a murmur. “Gabe tried to kiss me.”

Cooper nearly dropped his fork. “He what? ”

With a nod, I glanced around to be sure nobody was listening.

I could just see the headline in the Maplewood Matters gossip blog.

Which teacher is making moves on one of Maplewood’s single dads?

And that would be a mild headline. “Yeah. He had a little too much to drink last night after you bailed on us.”

Cooper’s smile turned into a crooked smirk. He didn’t look remotely remorseful for abandoning us. “And he kissed you?”

“No. I wouldn’t let him.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious? Why?”

“Cooper! He was drunk!”

“Right. Good point. Consent is important.” He took another bite of pie, looking thoughtful as he chewed. “So now what?”

I sighed deeply. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“Well, you’re into him, right?”

“Yeah, but—”

Cooper held up a hand to stop me. “Clearly he’s into you, too.”

“Clearly nothing. He’d had too much to drink. That’s all it was.”

“Is that what he said?”

I looked at my untouched pie. “We didn’t discuss it. I sort of… went straight to bed after, and then left before he woke up.”

“Sam!” He slapped his palm on the table, drawing looks from the few people around us.

“I know,” I said, my tone sheepish. “I know. But I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Cooper sighed. “Fine.” He took another bite of his pie, looking thoughtful as he chewed. I waited, but he didn’t say anything else.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked eventually.

“Talk to him. Isn't that what you tell your students? Use your words.”

I pressed my fingertips to the space between my eyebrows, feeling a headache creeping in on me. “Do I have to?”

Cooper finished his pie. Once he was done eating, he nodded. “You do. Or you can let him stay at your house for the rest of the summer and avoid him that whole time. Your call.”

I closed my eyes briefly. Both choices sounded terrible. Before I could continue the conversation with Cooper, though, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I fished it out and glanced at the display. Miles Rogers.

I swiped to answer. “Hey, Miles.”

“Great news, Sam.” He never wasted time when he had something he needed to say. “Do you have a few minutes?”

I glanced at Cooper. “It’s Miles,” I murmured.

He nodded and gestured to the phone. “Talk to him. It’s probably news about the shop.”

I turned my attention back to the phone. “Sure, what’s going on?”

“I spoke to the owner of the building. Not only did he say he’s more than happy to rent it to you, he’d been planning a renovation anyway, so he’s willing to renovate to suit your needs. You’ll need to meet with him this week so he can get things started.”

I was stunned. I’d known the building would require a lot of work. I never imagined that the owner would be willing to renovate it for me. “That’s… amazing. What do I need to do next?”

“Come by my place tomorrow after school. We’ll get the lease signed and squared away. You’ll need to meet with the project foreman to get things started and then it’s just a matter of sourcing your ingredients and making your ice cream.”

Words escaped me. It was really happening. I could hardly believe it.

“What do you say?” Miles prompted after I was silent for a moment.

“Yeah. I mean, yes, I’d love that. I’ll come by tomorrow after school.”

“Perfect.”

We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone, setting it down on the table next to my pie.

“Well?” Cooper prompted.

“The owner wants to renovate it to suit my needs,” I said quietly.

Cooper raised his eyebrows. “What does that mean? Like, paint and floors? Equipment? Furniture?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t think to ask the specifics. I’m supposed to go by tomorrow after school to figure it all out.”

Cooper raised his hand for a fist bump, and I met his knuckles with my own. “That’s awesome. Congrats.”

Sage stopped by then with our checks. “What’s awesome?”

“Sam’s going to have their own ice cream shop,” Cooper blurted.

Sage’s eyebrows rose. “Really? That’s great, Sam.” They sounded genuinely happy for me.

“Thanks.”

“Does this mean you’re quitting your teaching job?”

My stomach turned. I hadn’t thought about that. I mean, I had , but never in a real, concrete, this-is-really-happening kind of way. “I don’t know. I guess I am. Please don’t say anything to anyone. I’m not sure I’m ready to tell the principal yet.”

Sage nodded. A moment later, they swiped our cards for payment on their handheld machine and thanked us before saying goodbye. “Have a great rest of your day.”

Cooper and I stood and exited the diner. We lingered in front of it silently for a few moments. “Talk to him,” Cooper said. “You have to.”

“What if he’s embarrassed? Or regrets it and wants to forget it ever happened?”

He shrugged. “You’ll never know until you ask.”

“Or… what if he just wants a fling and breaks my heart at the end of the summer?”

Cooper put a hand on my shoulder. “Listen. Like I said, you’ll never know until you ask. What if he doesn't regret it? What if he wants a relationship?”

I took a shaky breath and swallowed hard. “You’re right. It could go spectacularly wrong. But it could go right, too. I think that scares me just as much.”

“Stop psyching yourself out. No matter what, you’re going to be fine.

If he regrets it, you can both forget it ever happened.

And if he wants more, go with it. All relationships end, until one doesn’t.

That doesn't mean you should hide from something that’s potentially amazing just because you’re afraid of the end.

You wouldn’t skip a highly recommended book just because you don’t know how it ends, would you? ”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re right.

Got me there. Thanks, Coop.” A few moments later, I turned and headed home.

As I walked, I had plenty of time to think about things.

I’d spent the day dwelling on our not-kiss, but the closer I got to actually discussing it with him, the more my mind spun.

I tried practicing what I was going to say by talking out loud to myself as I navigated the sidewalks toward my house.

“So… about that kiss.” No. That didn’t sound right. “Can I ask you why you tried to kiss me?” Definitely not. “Gabe, we need to talk about last night.” Okay, good start. Wait—no, that sounded way too serious.

I took a deep breath, trying to focus my mind. Instead, all I could think of was the night before. His warm skin. The comfortable way we laughed together, as if we’d known each other for far longer than we had. The easy conversation, the pink tinge to his cheeks, the green of his eyes.

God, I had it bad.

By the time I’d reached my driveway, I’d worked myself into a near-panic. What if he was inside? Or what if he wasn't? What if he’d packed up his things and left, mortified? Would I ever—

At that moment, the curtains fluttered in the window that looked in on the kitchen.

My stomach was sour with anxiety and my chest was tight, heat crawling up my neck.

I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful summer day, maple and oak leaves forming a bright green canopy over my car.

The sky was bright blue, not a cloud in sight.

From somewhere in the distance, a car door shut, startling me.

“Jesus Christ, Sam,” I muttered. “Get it together.”

I swallowed hard, nodded once, and headed up the steps to my house, bracing myself for what was next.