“He’s a principal,” Micah added with pride. He had taken the idea of me dating much better than I’d anticipated.
“Principal?” Dewayne asked, his eyes now completely focused on me. I swallowed the pizza and took a drink of water. Then I nodded and forced a smile.
“Where?” Dewayne asked, not looking happy about this at all. “I thought you said you didn’t date. You had Micah and that was enough.”
Whoa . . . wait a minute. Anger simmered in my blood, and I sat up straighter and leaned forward, glaring at Dewayne with a warning I hoped he understood. “Cam Dodge. He’s the vice principal at the high school, and if I get asked out by a nice man who doesn’t think I’m average, that’s my decision. I did ask Micah how he felt first, and then I spoke with Tabby before agreeing to this date. Your mother was thrilled.”
Dewayne clenched his jaw and didn’t flinch. “Where did you meet Cam Dodge?”
I was done. This was over. I stood up and threw my napkin on the table. “None of your business,” I informed him, and began clearing off the table.
“She met him in the bread aisle at the grocery store. He was really nice to her,” Micah offered since I wasn’t talking. That kid didn’t know when to keep information to himself.
“The bread aisle?” Dewayne asked, as if he was horrified by the idea.
I took several deep breaths before turning around to face him again after setting dirty dishes in the sink. He was welcome into Micah’s life, but he was not welcome into mine. I didn’t need his approval.
Just looking at him made me crack just a little. I hated that he affected me like this. I placed my hands on my hips. “Yes, Dewayne, the bread aisle. We discussed white bread and its healthy alternatives. He was nice to me. It felt good. Six years, Dewayne. Six very long years. I think I’m due a dinner date.”
Dewayne flinched this time. I smiled at him, although it didn’t reach my eyes. I was angry. I wanted him to leave. But he was here for Micah. It was time I gave them some alone time.
“I’m going to soak in the bath while you two play. Come get me when Dewayne leaves,” I told Micah. Then I forced my gaze back to Dewayne. “Thanks for dinner. It was delicious.”
I turned and walked toward the hallway.
“You barely ate any of it,” Dewayne called out to me.
“Don’t want to gain any weight and dip below that average line I’m walking,” I replied, then slammed my bedroom door behind me.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I took several calming breaths, then began to strip. I was ready for a long soak in the tub with the new bath salts Hillary had given me to try out. She wanted her employees to sample products she carried at the salon so we could recommend them. I loved that idea because I would never let myself splurge on things like bath salts.
Micah’s laughter in the living room reminded me why Dewayne was here, and I let my anger and frustration with him go. He had come to see Micah. He was protecting Micah. As insulting as it was for him to question my choices, I was glad he wanted to be a part of Micah’s life. I needed to learn to take the bad with the good.
From now on when Dewayne came to visit Micah, I would just take really long baths. I could eat more in here too. It was a win-win situation. The good thing about Dewayne being a jerk was that at least I wasn’t going all silly around him. His beautiful body and face didn’t get to me anymore.
Well, almost.
* * *
“Momma, I’m taking Dewayne outside to show him Daddy’s star. Okay?” Micah called through the door a long time later.
I had gone outside with him last night to help him find the biggest star we could see. He believed it was Dustin. So I let him believe it.
DEWAYNE
When Sienna had called out good-bye to me last night through her closed bedroom door, I knew I’d really screwed up. For starters, I was going to have to explain the ‘average’ comment to her, because it was bothering her. She kept bringing it up.
Then I needed to remember that she had done a damn fine job of raising Micah on her own. Trusting her was important. I did trust her. It was this Cam Dodge I didn’t trust. I was going to fix that, too. I would talk to him. See what I thought about him. If he was a good guy, then I’d encourage this dating thing with Sienna. If he wasn’t, I’d make sure he stayed the hell away from her.
Last night when Micah took me outside to see the star he believed was Dustin, I should have had a moment with him. It should have been the only thing on my mind. But it wasn’t. I’d been planning this visit to Cam Dodge. Fucker messed up my night. I had to make sure he was worth it. Sienna deserved the best.
Pulling my truck into the visitor parking at the high school, I decided this was the best idea. The man couldn’t ignore me if I showed up at his job. I’d ask for a meeting with him and then we’d talk. Sienna wouldn’t know about it, and I could hopefully step back and let her date.
Maybe she’d smile at me again. And f**king eat something around me.
I stepped into the school office, and Mrs. Quinn looked up at me. She broke into a smile as she stood up. The short little secretary was older than my momma, and her white hair was always curled up tight, her bangs pinned back with a bow like she was seven instead of seventy. Couldn’t help but love the woman.
“Well, if it ain’t Dewayne Falco come to pay us a visit. I’ve heard that you cause less trouble these days now that your buddies have all been tamed by their women.”